Lagos APC Primaries Under Control, Oshiomhole Tells Buhari
The All Progressives Congress, APC, Tuesday said it has disbanded the Ahmed Gulak-led Committee for the party’s governorship primaries in Imo State and that the Lagos primaries under control.
The National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole disclosed this to State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Oshiomhole explained that he was at the State House to brief the President on developments in the party and also to get inputs from the President.
He also said that the results being paraded as the result of the Imo governorship primaries was fake and that the party has disbanded the Committee that was sent to the state to conduct the primaries and will set up another one immediately so that the process would be completed before the end of the week.
The APC National Chairman further stated that the National Working Committee was in charge of the Lagos primaries and that every situation has been put under control.
The former Edo State Governor ruled out the possibility of honouring parallel results on the primaries from states, stressing that no matter how highly a member may be, he must subject himself to the Constitution of the party.
He said, “President is the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and also the overall leader of the All Progressives Congress and I am privileged to be the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress and it is normal that from time to time, I update the President with what I am doing and what roles he is expected to play and of course compare notes so that at any point in time, Mr. President is abreast of what the party is doing and we have the benefit of his own input, his own experience and his own thinking.”
On what he told the President about Lagos APC primaries, he said, “All that is good to go on, direct primaries, and everything is being done to ensure that there is no violence, that it is very potent. Democracy doesn’t flourish with violence and Nigeria must begin to learn how to differ in opinion and in choice without fighting. At least something people have to acquire over time. And for me I am excited that if we can do it in Lagos, we can do it anywhere.
“We actually had one, but you know when things go peacefully. Kano people trooped out two days ago and we saw a governor queuing with the ordinary people in his own ward to nominate a governor, all kinds of people participating because they are members of the party to decide who contest the next election, this is revolutionary.
“This time very ordinary people are determined, whether a governor should run again or not run again. So, nobody is going to take anybody for granted our democracy has to grow and move on, we must keep innovating, we must keep changing, we must keep digitalizing so that over time, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, we can grow to a level that Nigerians will really have a sense of ownership of the democratic process.”
When asked whether the NWC of the APC was support of the Lagos primaries, Oshiomhole said, “Everything that is being done is done under the control of and supervision and directions of the NWC.
“Not too long ago, a political party just four years ago had only one form that was available for presidential convention even there were other people including people who were saying there should be women presidential aspirants and the party had only one form and you remember they went on gathering signatures of faceless Nigerians who were purported to be asking him to do a second term.
“But here I am proudly saying that two, three days ago, you saw Nigerians across the 36 states, including the FCT queuing up to nominate their candidate and saying that they want the sitting President to run for second tenure. So this is not a petition by faceless people.”