APC TODAY: Need for delegates to shun money-politics but embrace the spirit of fairness and genuinity
Written by Aladesanmi Oyekanmi
The race to any election begins with the conduct of party primaries for such elections.
The race to any election begins with the conduct of party primaries for such elections.
Having party primaries remained an indication that political parties have shown seriousness in term of fielding candidates who will fly the flag of such political parties.
Be it direct or indirect, party primaries are put in place to decide parties candidates.
History will be made in Ondo state today as the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, holds its governorship primary.
Political enthusiasts believed it will be a tough political contest among the 12 aspirants who have shown interests in flying the party’s flag.
The indirect mode of primary has been adopted by party, which means, the party’s statutory and non statutory delegated will be engaged to decide the fate of the aspirants.
In the last few weeks, APC governorship aspirants have been dotting the Is and crossing the Ts, taking their political evangelism to all the nooks and crannies of the state.
Apart from the one-on-one campaign, radio and television campaigns have bombarded the air waves with different campaign jingles as aspirants have continued to market their potential policies and programs known to the people.
If their strategies will pay off or otherwise, the decision will be made today as over 2,500 delegates across the 203 wards will vote aspirant of their choice.
The party’s decision to adopt the indirect primary, even when 11 out of the 12 aspirants, are reluctant to accept it, can not be criticized but it is obvious that such mode of primaries remained too expensive.
News commentary could still recall that the mode was adopted by the APC during the 2018 governorship primaries in Ekiti state.
The first leg of the primary ended in chaos and the re-schedled primary later produced the sitting governor.
The same mode of primaries was adopted by the APC in Edo state in 2019 which paved the way for the re-election of governor Yahaya Bello.
The chemistry embedded in the indirect primary is that, aspirants with heavy financial war-chest could manipulate and at the end, the wishes of the larger population may be defeated.
As it were in Ekiti and Kogi states, APC delegates should not see today as a day to sell their conscience or turning aspirants to money-making-engines.
Delegates should see themselves as opinions leaders and decision makers who will likely design the political shape of Ondo state in the next 4 years.
Today is not set aside to witness swollen pockets but to put heads together to forward a genuine, marketable, capable, convincing, intelligent and credible candidate for the party.
News commentary equally wants APC aspirants to see the contest as a friendly match.
The 12 aspirants should bear it in mind that just one of them will be picked at the end to the exercise.
If others, who are not privileged to become the candidate, should build support for the candidate if truly they are party men.
The committee saddled with the responsibility of conducting the election is expected to maintain fairness.
Chairman of the committee, who is also the governor of Kogi state should take the exercise with utmost seriousness and should not see the assignment as an avenue to loud the “rob my back and I will rob your back” slogan.
Also, the espirit de corps slogan is not, in any form, expected between governor Yahya Bello and any of the aspirants.
Today’s news commentary wishes the APC a good outing as it elects it’s candidate for the October 10 governorship election.