How Crisis Over APC Direct Primaries Could Trigger Another Gale Of Defections

• As Govs, Lawmakers Set For Major Showdown In States 

By ‘Dotun Akintomide

Ahead primary elections to select candidates who will fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the 2019 polls, a major crisis is currently turning members against themselves as the party dumped the position adopted at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday opting instead to adopt direct primary for candidates.

The New Diplomat reports that the governors of Plateau and Kogi states, Simon Lalong and Yahaya Bello, respectively had told newsmen after the party’s NEC meeting on Thursday that it adopted direct primary to choose its presidential candidate for 2019 election, while other elective positions would go through indirect primaries.

However, APC on Friday set aside the NEC’s decision as the acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Yekini Nabena, said “primary elections into all elective offices shall be by Direct Primaries”.

The decision to use direct primaries for all elective positions will likely pitch state governors against other leaders of the party.

APC governors are said to maintain a common position against the use of direct primary while others including Senators want it.

Delegates who will vote in indirect primaries are mainly appointees and loyalists of the governors while direct primary involves all members of the party.

At parallels with the state governors, The New Diplomat gathered some National and State Assembly members were wondering why they were left to the whims and caprices of the governors in deciding who gets what.

Speaking on Twitter on Friday, Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani who is at already battling waves of opposition against his re-election from Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai said: “I stand by direct primaries. Indirect primaries [are] a maternity room for corruption.

Earlier on Thursday, he had said: “If you are truly a politician of the people and you are with your people, you should not have any fear of direct primaries. The fear of direct primaries is the fear of the people.”

This is as the governors control the structures and delegates from the state level to the ward level, which definitely spells doom for other stakeholders in the party, especially if they are not on the same page with governors, a situation that is currently playing out in many states controlled by the APC.

Meanwhile, a party chieftain who preferred to remain anonymous told The New Diplomat that how the party handles its primary process will either prevent or abate another gale of defections from the party as politicians become desperate to realize their ambition in next year’s general elections.

“Right now, APC is sitting on an edge, because failure to adopt direct primary by governors will surely push many senators, House of Reps members and even members of the state House of Assembly out of the party, of which a preponderance of them are presently at daggers-drawn with governors in their respective states.

“Again I must emphasize here that whether direct or indirect, the governors still control the structures. They control delegates and also party structures to the ward level which means their overarching influence will prevail in the selection, something which is bound to generate serious controversy and another round of defections if it goes unchecked,” he stated.