- The APC caucus in Nasarawa has adopted the indirect primaries for the mode of its polls come 2019
- Speaking on behalf of the caucus, Senator Binta Garba said that the agreement was reached because indirect primaries will best suit the party in the state
- Garba also said that the logistics involved in conducting the polls through indirect mode would be cheaper
Ahead of the 2019 elections in Adamawa, members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) caucus in the National Assembly representing the state have supported the decision to conduct indirect primaries in the state, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
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The group, which included eight members of the House of Representatives and a Senator, said this on Tuesday, September 18, at a joint press briefing in Abuja.
Senator Binta Garba, who spoke on behalf of the caucus, said that the group supported the decision of the Adamawa State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party to conduct indirect primaries.
“We state categorically that in line with the provision of Article 20 of the APC Constitution and the decision of the NEC of our great party which approved for each State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party to choose the mode of primary election best suited for the state based on the state’s peculiarity, do hereby fully agree with the decision of the Adamawa SEC of the party,” Garba said.
Garba, who represents Adamawa North senatorial district, said the caucus fully participated in the meeting where it was agreed that primary elections into all elected offices other than presidential poll should be held by indirect mode.
She said the group backed the decision based on some reasons which included the absence of updated register of members.
“Therefore, people who have recently defected to the party may not be able to vote or be voted for if the present register is used.
“Consequent upon the above, we know as a fact that using the present register of members will certainly affect the credibility of the outcome of the primary election.
“Again, Adamawa being one of the states having serious security challenges as a result of Book Haram attacks, cannot conduct peaceful election in some parts of the local governments in the northern part of the state, especially in areas bordering the Sambisa forest.
“These, unlike the ward congresses, have much higher stake and are not holding in one day and may expose our members to attacks,” she said.
She also argued that the logistics involved in conducting the elections through indirect mode would be quite cheaper compared to direct means.
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The lawmaker, who stressed that members of the caucus were not afraid of direct primaries, explained that rather, the group ”is afraid of not having elections at all or having elections whose outcome will not be credible.”
Members of the group include: Reps Sadiq Ibrahim, Yusuf Yakub, Abdulrazak Namdas, Abdulrahman Shuaibu and Adamu Kamale. Others are:House of Representatives members, Lawal Garba, Philip Gutuwa and Talatu Yohanna.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that a chieftain of the PDP in Nasarawa state, John Mamman, and his supporters have defected to the APC.
Mamman, a retired permanent secretary, made this known on Sunday, July 22, at a reception organised in his honour by the executives and members of APC, Dari electoral ward of Kokona local government area of the state.
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Source: Naija.ng