Direct primary: Govs angry over uncertainty to produce successors, win senatorial tickets

There are strong indications that many governors are angry that the direct mode of primaries passed by the National Assembly may deny them the opportunity of producing their successors or winning senatorial tickets after their tenure, goldennewsng.com reports.

These, it was gathered, were some of the reasons why they opposed the adoption of a direct mode of primaries in the amended electoral act.

One of the governors of the All Progressives Congress, who was at the tripartite meeting held at the State House with the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and members of the National Assembly on Tuesday, said he and the majority of his colleagues were against the adoption of the direct primary.

Those who attended the meeting, chaired by the vice president, included the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi; Chairman, National Caretaker Committee of the APC and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni; Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

Both Lawan and Gbajabiamila were said to have come to the meeting with lawmakers who supported the direct primary idea.

The governors, it was gathered, felt that the members of the National Assembly decided to opt for the direct primaries as a way of getting back at them (governors) over the outcome of the just concluded ward, local government and state primaries in their states.

“Some of these lawmakers don’t come home like they do when they were looking for the ticket, but as soon as they heard that congresses were on the way, they remembered they came from a constituency. Unfortunately, there are people at home already eyeing their seats,” the governor said.

The governor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that the passed bill was aimed at the state executives.

He added, “What the primary is aimed at getting is to deny us the privilege of choosing those who will take over from us or those that would win the party’s governorship ticket. They think without controlled delegates, we would not be able to determine our successors. They also felt we might not even be able to win senatorial tickets.