Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to return the harmonised version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to the National Assembly to give room for a review that will allow political parties to choose options for the election of candidates.
He made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists.
The revised Electoral Act, which was passed last Wednesday, approved direct primaries as the sole method to produce candidates for all elective positions.
He said the decision of the National Assembly was not in the best interest of the country.
The governor said apart from the lack of capacity to monitor the exercise that would involve all card-carrying members of the party, political parties also lacked the resources to handle direct primaries.
Asked whether his suggestion would not jeopardise other useful ideas in the revised law, he said: “It can be done within one week if that’s the popular opinion of Nigerians. The law should allow political parties to decide on direct or indirect primaries.”
When told that the action was taken to checkmate the overbearing influence of governors, Ortom said direct primary would actually enable them to achieve their wish.
“If any governor wants to manipulate the system, direct primary will be easier for him,” he added.
On his relationship with President Buhari, he said: “I relate with my president. I respect him and pray for him. But a lot of people have tried to distance me from my president.”
On why he backed Dr Iyorchia Ayu instead of David Mark for the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the governor said: “It was David Mark that said it should be Ayu. It is still the same thing. Ayu and Mark are very good brothers. The same thing Nigerians want through David Mark can be done through Iyorchia Ayu.”
Ortom said with the coming of Ayu, the PDP governors had resolved to rescue Nigeria and take the country back from the APC.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Benue State on Tuesday expressed optimism that some governors who defected to APC would soon return to PDP.
Benson Abounu said things are changing in a positive direction for PDP, adding that Nigerians are yearning for a change which in his estimation was already becoming reality with the emergence of Dr. Ayu as the party’s national chairman.
