APC senatorial aspirant rejects consensus, wants direct primaries

A senatorial aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, Daniel Ayesukwe, has rejected the party’s consensus arrangement, insisting that direct primaries remain the most democratic option ahead of the APC primaries.

The aspirant, who is contesting for the Taraba South Senatorial District ticket, disclosed this at a media briefing on Saturday.

Ayesukwe alleged that the consensus committee set up by Governor Agbu Kefas informed aspirants that there was an understanding to return all serving lawmakers.

The aspirant noted that the development raised concerns over why other aspirants were allowed to purchase nomination forms and participate in screening.

“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 the 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 that party members at the grassroots be allowed 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 automatic tickets for serving lawmakers without testing their popularity could weaken internal democracy and create resentment within the party.

He said: “We want a situation where APC will have 95 percent of the votes across Nigeria as the best party in the country.

“You can see that most governors are in the APC. 

“That tells you how strong the party is, but this consensus thing should be handled carefully so that it does not bring negative effects on the party.”