The campaign organisation of former Minister of
State for Agriculture and Rural Development and a governorship aspirant of the
All Progressives Congress (APC)) in Bayelsa State, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has
insisted that given the terrain of the state and likely malpractices associated
with direct primaries, the party should adopt the indirect method.
Speaking on Sunday in Yenagoa, the state capital,
in an interview, the governorship hopeful's Director of Research and Strategy,
Chief Livingstone Egba, maintained that Lokpobiri was not afraid of any system
adopted, but was only insistent on a credible process that would usher in the
most acceptable candidate to face the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He added that the former minister remained the most
experienced in the APC pack, noting that he’s the only aspirant with both
executive and legislative experiences.
According to Egba, “Lokpobiri is the aspirant who
has prepared diligently to be the next governor of this state. He’s credible,
exposed and highly experienced. If we must bring succour to our people, then
Lokpobiri is the man to do that. He’s on a rescue mission, and he’s prepared to
take off from the first day of governance.
“He’s the leading aspirant today. We have proposed
indirect system, not because we are afraid of the direct method, but because it
is simple and straightforward. The leading parties have now adopted indirect
primaries too.”
Egba added: “At the ward levels, we know who the
leaders are. How do you logistically
conduct direct primaries in difficult areas? What time will you bring the man
in Fantwo to Nembe creek, then Sabatoru? It’s a logistic nightmare.
“How do you take people from Abuja into those
creeks to conduct direct primaries? And that’s just one ward, let alone
Southern Ijaw, where you talk about Olugbobiri, Oporoma among others which are
far apart at the sea.
“Direct
primary is a recipe for disaster, electoral malfeasance, tricks and games.” To
avoid those acrimonies, he advised the party to “conduct a neat and universally
acceptable mode of primary.”
He noted that “Lokpobiri is not afraid. We have
mobilised and are fully ready, but for the sake of transparency and
accountability, we are advocating indirect primaries.
“And most people have forgotten that the APC as of
today does not have a standard, credible register. That’s another key issue.
Who are the members known to the party? We have done registration like three
times and none of them has produced a credible party register.
“Anybody can go and queue that they are members of
the APC to take part in the primaries, even PDP members who have vested
interests in the candidates. It will produce a muddled up process. But for
indirect system, we know the ward executive, the council executive, and they
even have the potential advantage because they installed these executives.”
“If anybody should complain, it should be
Lokpobiri. We want a credible process. If we lose, we would be happy that it
was fair, but if it’s not fair, we won’t be happy.”
The campaign director boasted that though it
wouldn’t comment on the entry of any aspirant, but added “that of all the
candidates that were screened, there’s only one candidate who’s experienced in
legislative and executive functions.
“Some just came out of the university, some will
not know how to handle the legislature, and some were still recently selling
kerosene and local gins. But we have a proven candidate in Lokpobiri. Only
Timipre Sylva, our leader would have made the difference besides Lokpobiri, but
besides him, no other candidate, except Lokpobiri.”
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