There are strong indications that many governors are angry that the direct mode of primaries passed by the National Assembly may deny them the opportunity of producing their successors or winning senatorial tickets after their tenure,
These, it was gathered, were some of the reasons why they opposed the adoption of a direct mode of primaries in the amended electoral act.
One of the governors of the All Progressives Congress, who was at the tripartite meeting held at the State House with the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo and members of the National Assembly on Tuesday, said he and the majority of his colleagues were against the adoption of the direct primary.
Those who attended the meeting, chaired by the vice president, included the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi; Chairman, National Caretaker Committee of the APC and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni; Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Both Lawan and Gbajabiamila were said to have come to the meeting with lawmakers who supported the direct primary idea.
The governors, it was gathered, felt that the members of the National Assembly decided to opt for the direct primaries as a way of getting back at them (governors) over the outcome of the just-concluded ward, local government and State primaries in their domains.
“Some of these lawmakers don’t come home like they do when they were looking for the ticket, but as soon as they heard that congresses were on the way, they remembered they came from a constituency. Unfortunately, there are people at home already eyeing their seats”, the governor said.
The governor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that the passed Bill was aimed at the State Executives.
Explaining the outcome of the tripartite meeting, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu, described its outcome as a “victory for the party’s internal democracy.”
He said though tension was high at the meeting, the Vice-President played the role of a great conciliator.
Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, on Tuesday after the passage of the Bill, addressed newsmen, where he said the Bill would be transmitted within seven days.
