20 Kogi APC guber aspirants, ex-speaker differ over indirect primaries

No fewer than 20 governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State yesterday faulted the party over its decision to adopt indirect primaries mode to pick its candidate for the state’s governorship poll billed to hold on November 16, this year.

Spokesman of the forum, Muhammed Ali, who spoke with journalists after an emergency meeting at the party’s secretariat in Abuja, said that the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) arrived at the decision without consulting with them on the most appropriate mode to adopt for the primaries.

The group, which stated that it outrightly rejects the indirect primaries mode adopted by the party, said that the measure was akin to handing the party’s ticket to Governor Yahaya Bello to seek a second term in office on the platform of the party.

It, therefore, vowed to resist the use of the indirect mode for the primaries, warning of a repeat of the Zamfara scenario whereby the party eventually lost out to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) due to the crisis that rocked the party.

However, former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Bello, has commended the decision of the NWC of the APC for adopting the indirect primaries for the selection of its flag-bearer for governorship election in the state.

In a statement signed by the former speaker and made available to journalists in Lokoja, said that the last Friday decision of the party’s national body as it relates to the build up to the 2019 gubernatorial election in Kogi State was commendable.

According to him, the decision of the NWC was in line with the resolution of the state executive committee and stakeholders of the party who met on June 15, 2019 where the proposal for the indirect mode of primaries was voted for.He said: “This will make the party’s primary election less cumbersome, free of acrimony and easier to manage.

“There’s no doubt that as we prepare for this crucial election, our party remains the strongest in Kogi State and with the starling performance of Bello, victory is surely a settled matter, as salary/pension issues are becoming a thing of the past and many projects are on the verge of being commissioned.