By: Mayen Etim
KADUNA, North-West, Nigeria – Kaduna State All Progressives Congress, (APC) Aspirants and Stakeholders Forum has urged the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomole to endorse Direct Primaries in the state.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 at the NUJ Council Secretariat, Spokesman of the Forum and a House of Representatives aspirant, Hassan Samdi, said the Forum is convinced that adopting Direct Primaries will not only diminish the corruptive influence of vote-buying, it would give party members a voice and, unlike what we have at the moment, promote the growth of a strong, virile, people-rooted APC.
“We remain resolutely committed to Direct Primaries as the most efficacious mode of determining and throwing up our best candidates to spar against those of the opposition parties for the Gubernatorial and Legislative positions in Kaduna state.
“We earnestly look forward to your endorsement of Direct Primaries in Kaduna state.”
Hon Samdi informed that recently the Kaduna State Chapter of the party, held a State Executive Council, (SEC) meeting to determine the preferred mode of nominating the Party’s flag bearers in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.“Upon receiving the Party’s invitation to the SEC meeting we honored the invitation with the earnest expectation that a robust engagement of the issues would take place and that, at the end of the day, superior reasoning and the interest of the Party would guide the final outcome of the deliberations.
“Surprisingly however, and typical of the tyrannical way the affairs of the Party have been conducted in the state since 2015, the only opinion that was allowed expression at the event was that of the state government as presented by the Deputy Governor.
“Thereafter it was widely broadcasted that there was a ‘collective decision’ from the said meeting adopting Indirect Primaries for Kaduna state.“This claim is false. The decision was not collective. And, what is worse, the process that led to it was anything but consultative.
“Consequently, we, the teaming members of the APC under the aegis of the Kaduna State Aspirants and Stakeholders Forum, reject this so called ‘collective decision’ for what it is: the orchestrated outcome of yet another sham Party process,” he said.
Answering Reporters question on whether the Forum members will decamp from the party if its request is not met, Hon Samdi said he doubted it.
“We are taking our cry to the leadership of the party; the President and National Chairman. We believe they are not going to adopt the Indirect Primaries.
“Recently, the Adamawa State executives of the APC was desolved, we also believe the same will be done to Kaduna State chapter,” he added.
On whether the Forum is afraid of Indirect Primaries, the Spokesman said on the contrary; “Congresses were not held, and at the end of the day the delegates list was drawn in a hotel, where a serving senator was not allowed to bring a single person, only their house helps and drivers were listed as executives of the party.
“We are not afraid, rather we are opting for Direct Primaries, not because we are scared of them but because the delegates are their people, hence, we don’t agree to such arrangement, ” he said.
