APC governors lobby National Assembly caucuses over direct primary

The state Governors under the platform of the All Progressives Congress  (APC) are lobbied the caucuses in the National Assembly (NASS) on the controversial direct primary clause in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

It was gathered that the governors reached out to the party’s caucuses in the NASS in their latest bid to forge a compromise with the leadership of the legislative arm.

Kebbi State Governor and also Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Atiku Bagudu, reportedly met with some principal officers of the National Assembly in Abuja on the matter.

The sources gathered that the Kebbi State governor and the legislators discussed the need to ensure that the APC is not divided by the disagreement on the bill ahead of the 2023 elections.

The bill is currently awaiting the assent of President Muhammadu Buhari who is said to be still consulting widely to determine whether to sign the bill or not.

It was also gathered that some of the  APC governors also met with Senate President  Ahmed Lawan to discuss how the grey areas in the bill could be addressed to ensure that the APC as a party presents a common position on the matter.

An aide to one of the governors said the governors’ initiative may have been informed by the body language of President Buhari on the matter.

“The President is more disposed to signing the bill,” said the source.

He added: “He is more comfortable with the arguments for direct primary. We even gathered that he may have suggested to the governors to reach out to the lawmakers and forge a common front with them on the matter in the interest of the party.

“During the week, upon his return home, my boss had a meeting with members of our state’s caucus in the National Assembly and the discussions were not as heated as the previous ones.

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“Both sides are now thinking of the interest of the party and seem to be agreeing that a common position is better and still possible.

“Unless the governors and the lawmakers agree on this issue, whether the President signs the bill or declines assent, APC will be troubled by his decision.”

Bagudu had last month led other APC governors to reject the direct primary clause in the electoral bill, which mandates political parties to adopt the direct primary system.

The Kebbi State governor, after a meeting with eight other governors on the platform of the party in Abuja, briefed the media on their decision.

In attendance were governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, David Umahi of Ebonyi, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano and Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa.

The Kebbi Governor, after the meeting, told journalists that political parties should be allowed to pick their system for primaries. He added that holding direct primaries on a large scale was against the spirit of the Executive Order signed by the President to restrict large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the direct primary system would be too cumbersome for the Independent National Electoral Commission to supervise.

But the National Assembly appears determined to see the bill signed into law with the direct primary clause included in it.

Senate President,  Ahmad Lawan, after a recent meeting with Buhari, said the National Assembly did not have to lobby the President to sign the electoral amendment bill in its current form.

He stated that by transmitting the bill to the president, the National Assembly members already expressed their positions on issues to the President.

House of Representatives  Speaker,  Femi Gbajabiamila,  who also met with Buhari on the issue asked the President to sign the Electoral Amendment Bill into law, saying: “We are hopeful it will become law and Nigerians will be better for it. The President is happy. He will look at all the issues we have brought to his attention.

“We talked about the Electoral Act Amendment. The official position of the House of Representatives and the Senate, are for direct primaries. We are for empowering the people at the grassroots level. Let everybody participate in governance.”

An APC ranking Senator from the Southwest also confirmed the development to newsmen.

His words: “The National Assembly is under the leadership of the APC. The governors we are talking about are APC governors. So, it should be expected that when we disagree on principles, we will seek to reconcile our differences.

“That is what you are seeing playing out. Don’t forget that PDP governors and lawmakers are up in arms against the same direct primary clause. So, are you expecting that we will continue to disagree for outsiders to benefit? That is not wise politically.

“Good enough, the President who is to sign or decline assent is an APC member too. Do you think he will be pleased to see what is happening? I can assure you that following some development, we are now poised to find a common ground and take credit for the much-awaited amendment of the Electoral Bill together as members of the ruling party.”

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