2019: Face Your Party Business, APC Tells PDP

The All Progressives Congress, said it was amused by the interest shown by the Peoples Democratic Party in the mode of election the APC had adopted for primaries to elect the party candidates for the 2019 elections.

The APC said this in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Yekini Nabena, in Abuja, on Sunday.

Nabena was reacting to an earlier statement issued by the PDP condemning the APC’s adoption of the direct primary method to choose its standard bearers in the 2019 elections.

Nabena said “With over 13 million registered APC members coupled with a large section of non-partisan Nigerian electorate supporting the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration, it would seem that the PDP on account of its attack of the APC’s adoption of direct primary particularly to elect its presidential candidate, has already conceded defeat even before the 2019 elections.

“We quite understand that the revolutionary and progressive idea of direct primaries to elect party candidates is strange to the PDP – a party known for its inability to ensure internal party democracy and actively promotes imposition of candidates against the will of its members.”

He also explained that the direct primary method, among others benefits, would ensure fairness; create a level playing field for contestants; eliminate corrupt tendencies usually associated with the delegates system and ultimately ensure full and direct participation of party members at all levels in the election of party candidates.