Tinubu Backs Direct Primary For Edo APC

TRACKING___National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is in favour of direct primaries as a mode of selecting the party’s flagbearer in the September 19 governorship election in Edo state.

The National Working Committee (NWC) led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had stipulated that the governorship primary would be conducted using the direct method.

The state chapter of the party, led by Anselm Ojezua however, announced its preference for the indirect mode, with respect to the COVID-19 protocols contained in the recent gazette by the state government.

Though he has not made his position on the contentious issue officially known, a former Senator in Lagos who is one of Tinubu’s key loyalists told Daily Independent that the former Lagos state governor “strongly believes that direct primary is the best mode for selection of candidates as it gives party members an opportunity to be part of the process”.

“Asiwaju is interested in direct primary where all party members will have a say in picking the governorship candidate of the party”. “On many occasions, he (Tinubu) will argue that if not for direct primary, he would not have gotten the Alliance for Democracy (AD) ticket then. Some of the leaders of the party don’t like him but his supporters, which includes people like Rauf Aregbesola said it must be direct primary and that was how he emerged the candidate of the AD then.”

“Another recent example is the last governorship election in Lagos state where all the party members publicly chose who they want to be their candidate and the result was accepted by all”.
Asiwaju believes that direct primary will give party members a sense of belonging. He also believes that direct primary will also help representative democracy as it will be the party members who decided”.

“To him, he believes indirect primary is subject to the whims and caprices of godfathers who can just buy the delegates and the process will be heavily monetized” he said.