Allow parties to decide mode of primary election – PDP chieftain

Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, a Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has faulted the adoption of direct primaries by the National Assembly in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

Ogidi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that political parties should be allowed to decide their preferred mode of primaries rather imposing a mode on them.
He said that forcing a mode of primary election on all political parties was not the answer.

The former PDP National Vice-Chairman, South-South, said that political parties that refused to conduct credible primary elections, usually rip the consequences at the main election.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been conducting direct primaries and the PDP has been doing indirect primaries, why can’t you leave each party to adopt anyone it likes? Now they are saying direct primaries are too expensive and all of that.
“Why can’t they allow the parties to decide what type of primary election they want to adopt? Let the party decide how they want to chose their candidates, exco and when they get to the general elections they slug it out.

“Each time any party did not conduct it primary well, it will face the consequence at the main election.

“My take is that each party has it own prefered form of conducting it primary election and should be allowed,” Ogidi said.

He said that the PDP had already adopted indirect primaries for electing its candidates and should be allowed to continue with that.
“Any party that prefers any mode of primary electikn should continue with it, ” he said.

The party chieftain, however, said that what excited him most in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill was the adoption electronic transmission of results by the National Assembly.

He said that if electronic transmission of results was approved it would resolve cases of manipulation of elections results that have been witnessed over the years.
He expressed fears that the issue of party primaries might cause delays in the final assent to the Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We were discussing electronic transmission of results and they brought in mode of primary election. What has it got to do with it?,” Ogidi asked.(NAN)