Not less than 20 governorship aspirants on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State have opposed the use of indirect primary to elect the party’s gubernatorial candidate. Spokesman of the Forum of APC Governorship Aspirants and one of the contenders, Comrade Muhammed Ali, who read a letter addressed to the party’s National Chairman at its national secretariat in Abuja, said the National Working Committee (NWC) did not consult them before settling for indirect primary that required delegates to take decision on behalf of other party members.
Comrade Ali said the adoption of indirect primary would have serious negative consequences for the fortunes of the party in Kogi State. “We observe that as a party committed to the enthronement of popular democracy, the resort to an indirect primary in the Kogi State chapter of the APC amounts to a muzzling of the wish of the generality of our party members.
“It is on record that Yahaya Bello’s factional party executive council members, which he is angling as delegates for the indirect primary, are peopled by his political appointees and loyalists who are on the payroll of the state government.” Some protesters said to be loyal to Governor Yahaya Bello were sighted at the APC National Secretariat, yesterday, to counter the governorship aspirants’ rejection of indirect primary. The police authorities later sent a reinforcement team to avoid violence.