By Terna Chikpa
A senatorial aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, Hon. Daniel Ayesukwe, has rejected the party’s consensus arrangement, insisting that direct primaries remain the most democratic option ahead of the APC primaries.
Ayesukwe, who is contesting for the Taraba South Senatorial ticket, spoke during a press briefing in Jalingo on Friday.
He alleged that the consensus committee set up by the party informed aspirants that there was an understanding to return all serving lawmakers.
According to him, the development raised concerns over why other aspirants were asked to purchase nomination forms and participate in screening exercises.
“As aspirants, we bought forms, and the committee told us there was an understanding to return all serving members,” he said.
He argued that if incumbents were already guaranteed tickets, the party should not have subjected other aspirants to the nomination process.
“They would have simply handed forms to the serving lawmakers instead of asking others to spend money and prepare for primaries,” he added.
The APC chieftain maintained that democracy required party members at the grassroots to freely choose their candidates through direct primaries.
He said President Bola Tinubu had also supported grassroots participation where consensus arrangements failed.
Ayesukwe warned that granting automatic tickets to serving lawmakers without testing their popularity could weaken internal democracy and create resentment within the party.
“We want a situation where APC will secure 95 per cent of votes across Nigeria as the best party in the country.
“You can see that most governors are in APC. That tells you how strong the party is, but this consensus arrangement should be handled carefully so that it does not have negative effects on the party,” he said.
