Nigeria Not Yet Ripe for Direct Primary Elections, Says IPAC

•Urges National Assembly to expunge contentious clause in bill

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has said the country is not ripe for direct primary as a means for political parties to elect their candidates.

Addressing a media briefing yesterday, to mark the commencement of business in the New Year, IPAC National Chairman and Chairman of the African Democratic Party (ADP), Yabagi Yusuf, said the council was of the view that the National Assembly should expunge the offensive items in the 2021 Electoral Act amendment Bill.

The Council which had earlier rolled out plans of engagements during the year, said it was working on a concept for the establishment of a pan-African democracy institute to be known as the Africa Institute for Democracy (AID), to be located in Abuja.

It said the thrust of the concept was for the deepening and spreading of all-inclusive democracy in Africa, through the creation of a centre for research and teaching of democracy with bias on African peculiar characteristics.

IPAC said that the main contentious clause in the bill was the provision for mandatory use of direct primary election in the selection of standard-bearer of all the political parties.

Speaking on the issue of exigency of adoption direct primaries, he said the country should make haste slowly.

He said the legislation on direct primaries amounted to an attempt to usurp the constitutional rights of parties as to the method of choice of electing party flag bearers.

According to him, the country’s constitution recognises that the issue use of direct or indirect primary election was an internal affairs of political parties.

“The way out of the logjam in view of IPAC is for the shifting of grounds by the legislature and the executive arms of government for a compromise and amicable resolution resulting in a win win scenario.

“This should not be a difficult task given that the two arms are, incidentally, controlled by the same political party, the APC. The IPAC is accordingly, recommending that the legislature should accede to the expunging of the clauses regarding direct primary election thereby saving the other equally important provisions among which, is the one on the mandatory electronic transmission of election results by INEC,” he said.

On the stalemate over the bill, the IPAC boss said commended the National Assembly for the courage, high level of commitment and patriotism exhibited in the passage of the proposed legislation that had been widely applauded as ground-breaking and transformative in the annals of the nation’s legislative chambers.

Yabagi said in order to avoid further pitfalls in the remodeling and implementation of the proposed legislation, IPAC suggested that the legislature and executive should consider carrying Council along in view of the fact that the bill directly affects its members and the political parties who would implement the law when eventually enacted.

‘For once, we saw our representatives disregarding partisan differences in favour of superior national interest. We saw our lawmakers stood up in a spirited battle in the course of democracy even in the face of intimidation and blackmail.

“We have noted that the only expressed grouse of the President on the basis of which he held back his assent.

“While many may not concede to the explanations of security challenges with the other reasons given by the president, it will be difficult however, to disagree with him on the reason of complex logistics and huge financial burden that direct primary elections will imply for the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“Many have canvassed the view that no amount of money should be considered too high in the efforts to sanitise the nation’s electoral process and that the Legislature should therefore, invoke its veto powers to overrule the President.

“To us in IPAC, such an action may be tantamount to a wholesale wrecking of the boat.

“We are of the view that, much as we may cherish its perceived benefits, the country, at this stage of the progress of its democracy, does not appear to be sufficiently ripe and prepared for the direct primary election model in the selection of political party flag bearers.

“Also, against the backdrop of the president’s decisive aversion to this particular provision of the Electoral Bill, the use of veto by the legislature may merely result in a fruitless exercise if at the end of the day, its implementation is not supported by the required funding by the executive.”

On the challenges of insecurity, IPAC Chairman said the council did not buy in the excuse given by President Muhammadu Buhari that the state of insecurity should dictate the electoral process.

He expressed optimistism that the current insecurity would be properly addressed and reversed going forward.