Despite President Muhamadu Buhari’s opposition to the Direct Primary clause in the Electoral Act (Amendment Bill) 2021, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has insisted that the mode remained the most democratic system of selecting party candidates.
The speaker in his welcome remarks to his colleagues when the House reconvened on Tuesday, noted that a delegate system that deprives the majority of party members of the opportunity to choose who represents them in the general elections is susceptible to bad outcomes and ought to be fixed.
“I remain convinced that the proposal for direct primary elections is valuable for building accountability in our political system,” Gbajabiamila said.
He, however, hinted that the lawmakers would reintroduce the Bill on Wednesday by expunging the contentious clause and resend the Bill for presidential assent.
“The House will reintroduce the amendment this tomorrow. And we will work quickly to address the mitigating concerns, pass the Bill and send it back to His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
“Now, we have to choose between sticking to our guns regarding the provision to mandate direct primary elections for political parties or reworking that provision to save the rest of the Bill,” the speaker stated.
