All Progressives Congress national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, says the decision of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) approving direct primary for electing the governorship candidate in Osun will deepen internal democracy in the party.
Tinubu expressed the view in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday entitled ‘Internal Democracy: Improving the Nomination Process’,
A copy of the statement was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) by Tinubu’s Media Officer, Mr Tunde Rahman.
According to the APC chieftain, the party’s Constitution provides for both direct and indirect primaries, but the direct option is more democratic and more participatory.
Tinubu said that the decision was a ground-breaking step, as it affirmed the party’s democratic inclinations.
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He said that the involvement of all APC members in candidate nomination would ensure that the party chooses the candidate of the people.
“It will also serve to galvanise the party membership for the general election that lies ahead.
“Moreover, direct primaries will serve as a future deterrent to those who might have tried to corrupt the delegate system of obtaining nominations.
“With that system, the temptation to ‘buy’ delegates was an ever-present weakness. Now, such a venal undertaking will prove much too costly and uncertain to be entertained as feasible strategy.
“I am sure party members in Osun welcome this decision for it shines the rays of democracy more fully upon them.
“May this decision not be peculiar to Osun, but stand as the new way of our party. The nation and the APC will both be better for it,” he said.
Tinubu said that the decision took courage and conviction, as it bucked the old ways to bring about something better and new.
“When the history of this moment is written, those looking back on this decision will say that it was an inevitable natural consequence of party evolution, ” he said.
Tinubu commended the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, for leading the party toward greater democracy.
According to him, increased participation of all party members in key decisions that affect them is commendable.
“From inception, our party has held to principles of internal democracy, and by the open and fair conduct of our conventions, we have distinguished ourselves from all other political parties.
“While we have achieved more than others with regard to internal democracy, there is still more to be done in order to perfect our internal procedures and mechanisms.
“This consideration was a key factor in the election of Oshiomhole as party chairman.
“Core to that mandate is the improvement of democracy within the party so that we may become even better representatives of the people, ” Tinubu said.
NAN reports that the APC said it would adopt direct primary method in Osun State in choosing a candidate ahead of the state’s governorship election.
The national chairman of the ruling party, Oshiomhole, said this on Monday in Abuja after the screening of aspirants interested in flying the party’s flag in the September 22 election.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
