A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, speaks on the controversial compulsory use of direct primary that is included in the recently amended Electoral Act Bill by the National Assembly that is awaiting the assent of President Muhammadu Buhari, among other issues in this interview with DAVID LAWANI
The issue of direct primary is still generating controversy, what is your position on this?
It is strictly a party affair. And I am personally aware that the APC constitution already prescribed that they can use any of the three, by consensus which is very good.
It is the most peaceful if it is done properly. It can be by congresses and it is democratic. Because the members of the congress were elected by the party members. Or it can be by direct primary. But the national assembly has absolutely no business legislating on a matter like that. No power to debate or legislate on it.
Secondly, it is the easiest way to fake primaries. And the only people propagating it are the people who have ulterior motives and it is anti-democratic. It is anti-democratic because it is one system of selecting candidates that people can sit in a room anywhere and write the results. Even up to date, in the few instances where it has been used, that is how it has been done.
Otherwise, how do you explain Anambra? The APC candidate won the primary, with well over 300, 000 votes, but when the election came he had 40, 000 votes, how do you explain that? So, this is what happens. Lastly, no candidate, in the case of the presidential primary will be able to monitor the party’s aspirants, be able to monitor every ward in the nation. We are still struggling with INEC to conduct free and fair elections at the cost of trillions of naira.
How do you expect party aspirants to monitor every ward? You know it is easy to rig. It is difficult for a governorship aspirant for example, how do they monitor every single ward? We are still struggling with INEC to do it effectively. How about the Police, DSS, Customs, and all the security agencies participating? And you want a party to do the same thing all over the country? You are just inviting bloodshed. Because it won’t work.
Parties are not organized for that kind of thing. They cannot do it and they cannot afford it. The structural arrangements to monitor that are not there. And the security agencies are not ready for such a thing either. How many times can we stretch them? Just for political purposes. It is a wrong-headed move with a sinister motive. Whoever must have been propagating it must have a sinister motive. I am only saying given our level of political maturity, it is unthinkable. Totally, unthinkable at the levels these primaries are carried out. It will lead to bloodshed.
The APC seems to be engrossed in a crisis arising from the congresses, what is the way out?
There is always a crisis in the parties originating from the congresses. The battle at the party is still on. It is between the democratic and the anti-democratic forces. They are still at work. The battle for the control of the soul of the party because the convention is around the corner. So, forces are fighting the party because of the forthcoming general election.
It will happen and it will continue to happen. That is why I prayed that we get a strong national candidate who can manage the leadership of the party. It is not an easy job. Every state is in a crisis of interests. The candidate must not have any interest. Once that is done, it is settled for the party. I will pray again that the candidate will have a strong mind-set. He must be independent, a believer in the democratic process.
And it must be somebody who doesn’t have any overriding personal interest in whatever way and will be ready to work for the party. To get somebody strong enough to make a decision even against the powerful forces however they may be is a difficult thing having all these attributes in one person. But, we must get at least close to it.
Internal party democracy is one of the banes of the political parties in Nigeria, how can we get it right?
We need a national chairman who has a strong character. Because the constitution is clear about internal democracy. It is about whether the chairman dares to do what the constitution provides for and he is not a factional leader. He must be upright and dare to take action in the interest of the party. Otherwise, the series of crises will never end, and as long as there is a group that has an interest so long will we continue to have crises.
But, if the process is seen to be free and fair, there might still be complaints, but he will be convinced that he has done his best in the interest of the party. People who see fairness in the process tend not to be violent as those who were discriminated against or cheated. When you cheat people that is when they don’t care what happens. And, if they go to court they do everything to get justice. And when you plead with them they are not ready to listen because you have been unfair to them. So, that is the problem.
The president recently approved February for the convention, the party is yet to agree on the zoning of offices, are you worried about it?
They will have to do it before that day. So, why should I be worried? Two clear months before that date. They have the whole of December and January. And I don’t think it is such a difficult job. We have procedures, processes, and understanding on which all of these will be based on.
Where do you stand in this debate of the rotational presidency in 2023?
I don’t want to start giving notes. If I call it rotational presidency somebody will scream and say, hahaha! All I am saying is, if you believe in one Nigeria if you believe every section of the country has good people for this one Nigeria, then you have no choice but to make everybody, every group in the country whether religious or ethnic, have a sense of belonging. If there is no sense of belonging, then there cannot be one nation.
So, there is no way any part of the country will have a monopoly of power. So, that is my defining principle. The issue is, do you want one Nigeria or you don’t want it? That is it because the consequences will be there. But if you want one Nigeria, do things that will make everybody feel wanted and the rest of the country will respect what you stand for and you will have peace. Whether it is rotational or zoning, the question is, do you want one Nigeria? If you want one Nigeria, you will have to give everybody a sense of belonging.
Do you think the caretaker committee of the APC as is presently constituted has overstayed its welcome?
Look, they have a job to do. They have to take us to the convention. They were selected to give the party leadership. The job is not complete until then, you can argue they have stayed too long but the job is not done. And, they have been given February date. So, we just have to be patient with them towards getting effective and inspirational leadership for the party.
The APC-led Federal government has been accused of failing to deliver on its electoral promises. Do you share this view?
We are in a democracy. And, we have effective, relaxed, and substantial opposition parties. I think people are free to hold whatever views they want to have.
The Federal Government plans to remove the petrol subsidy by 2022, and also plan to give 40 million indigent Nigerians N5000 each, is this a good policy?
I don’t have the details of this N5000 policy. But subsidy does not do any nation any good unless it is done to encourage production and productivity. If there is no subsidy for consumption like fuel, it is good for all because it becomes unsustainable. We have for long been doing the wrong thing. It is market forces that should determine the pricing regime.
However, the increase should have been gradual and not in three digits as we plan to do. If the increase is gradual, nobody will scream it’s too much. The product was sold at a reduced cost for 10 years and all of a sudden, you said you want to double it or triple it. So, we have been doing the wrong thing for so long.
There is no reason to subsidize consumption. But an important point is that government must address inefficiency in the system. We are subsidizing the whole of the West African region. The fuel comes and is taken out of the country by tankers. Meanwhile, they are all recorded as consumption in Nigeria. So, those inefficiencies must be addressed. If you remove subsidy, that will address the problem of consumers in the country being made to subsidize the rest of West Africa. That is critical.
Credit to ThisNigeria