The Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman has said that party leaders must be appealed to, so that they are able to understand and appreciate that the challenges facing both the party and the nation require strong unity, especially among leaders.
This was contained in a statement he signed, while reacting to the meeting convened by the party officials and National Assembly members on the Electoral Act amendment Bill.
The agenda of the expanded meeting was the proposed amendment to the Electoral Act, which specifically require all political parties in the country to adopt direct primary for the nomination of party candidates for election.
The decision to hold the expanded meeting was taken at previous meeting of the APC Tripartite Committee with the aim of facilitating synergy between members of the National Assembly, Governors, and the party on the proposed amendment of the Electoral Act.
Salihu Lukman says some, believed that through direct method, involving all party members, problems of imposition of leaders and candidates, vote buying, rigging, manipulation, associated with indirect methods of the delegates system will be reduced.
He says the Inability of APC to institutionalise the direct method, as the preferred option for electing leaders and selecting candidates of the party,for election is a major source of disappointment for many party members and leaders, given the way all the problems associated with the indirect method has also manifested in the APC.
Beyond the sentiments in favour of direct primary therefore, there is the need to properly outline a clear administrative framework under the law, which will guide the process and guarantee that all the bad practices associated with the indirect method are eliminated.
He blamed Part of the underlying problems of Nigerian democracy on poor relation between members of executive and legislative branches.
The Director General faulted the proposal passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly on November 9th, 2021 describing it as highly inadequate and leaves more room for manipulation, which may produce more disaster for the country beyond what the nation is going through under the indirect method.
He recommended that given that the whole controversy about the proposed Electoral Act amendment which is limited to the new insertions in Section 87, the National Assembly should consider reworking issues under Section 87 to make it unambiguous.
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