As the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) commences the conduct of its primary elections tomorrow, OKEY MADUFORO reports on how the party aims to checkmate what it describes as rip-off of aspirants
In 2013, when Prof. Charles Soludo obtained the nomination form to contest the gubernatorial primary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), a total of seven persons indicated interests to contest for the ticket of the party and a screening committee set up.
Few weeks later, the committee, made up of some stakeholders who had urged him to join the race announced his disqualification on the grounds that he could not present his tax clearance certificate and also not having a voters’ card. Same was also the fate of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, who was also an aspirant of the party in the said primary election.
The news was indeed shocking that a former governor of the Central Bank has not been paying tax and does not have a voters’ card. At the end, Chief Willie Obiano emerged as the candidate of the party and ultimately won the gubernatorial election. Apparently all the other aspirants had paid for the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms before the screening proper and those huge sums of money are non-refundable.
Catalogue of deceit and conspiracy
It has been common practice in most political parties for aspirants to spend huge sums of money, organising endorsement meetings with political jobbers and hangers on but end up not winning the ticket and APGA has also been guilty of this rip-off.
A case in point was the gubernatorial election primaries in 2019 in Imo State, where the committee charged with the responsibility of screening and conducting primary elections executed what was adjudged as daylight robbery with aspirants spending over N500 million but got disqualified.
Some of the victims of this ripoff embarked on a manhunt for some members of the committee from Anambra State to the extent that funds were also recovered at near gunpoint, while relatives of committee members received death threats from aspirants in their bid to recover their money. Also, most of the victims ended up dumping the party, while others frustrated at the election proper.
Late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah was also a victim as he was promised the senatorial ticket of Anambra South District hence discouraging him from contesting the gubernatorial ticket of the party. True to the nature of the party, Ubah was denied the ticket despite investing heavily to build structures for the party in the district. Ubah had to recover some of his money through threats and sheer force. He, however, won the senatorial election election on the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP).
Soludo’s intervention
At APGA’s recent stakeholders meeting in Awka, the Anambra State capital, the National Chairman of the party. Barr. Sylvester Ezeokenwa, handed down what could be termed “APGA’s Eleven Commandments,” when he announced that the mode for the primary elections to elect candidates for the 2027 general election is Option A4 which is open secret balloting.
According to Ezeokenwa; “in the past APGA has been faced with so many challenges and problems arising from primary elections and this has been the bane of the party and that explains why we have these rules and regulations. Party officials from the ward, local government, state and national levels have been banned from wearing the campaign cloths or gifts of any aspirant.
“Also, there shall be no more payment for nomination forms but only expression of interest fees. After screening process and you emerge then you pay for nomination forms. “Party officials are not allowed to attend endorsement and declaration meetings of aspirant and the meeting must not be in a private residence but at the party office.
In the past, APGA was faced with so many challenges and problems arising from primary elections and this has been the bane of the party and that explains why we have these rules and regulations
No party officials are allowed to endorse any aspirant and if an official is so passionate about an aspirant he should temporarily hand over to the next person in charge.” Ezeokenwa also announced that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has also banned aspirants from sharing money during primary elections as that may lead to disqualification.
“The presentation of money for kolanut and sharing of gift by aspirants have also been banned,” he said. Also speaking at the meeting, Governor Soludo, who stated that the era of marketing or trading with the party has gone, said the bane of the party’s growth since it’s formation is the role of past leadership in trading with the party to its detriment.
“How can you fund the party when the party has no purse and the treasurer and financial secretary of the party do not keep money because whatever money that gets into the party is shared?,Soludo queried, adding: “Why the party has not grown is because the past leadership used the party to do business and this must stop.”
On the way forward, the governor said: “We must go back to the drawing board and find out what went wrong and be accountable to the party. Our tickets are not for sale and we are rebuilding the party, so that it will be what a political party should be and not a party for trading.” “We must begin to reward party loyalty because in 2002, thousands of people joined this party but most of them are not with the party.” he said.
Mixed grill trail code of conduct
The code of conduct has so far been greeted by mixed grill as some stakeholders are said to be not comfortable with the new mode of primaries. There are no more visitations by aspirants to stakeholders, while party officials risk suspension and other disciplinary actions if they violate the rules.
But the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, who backed the reform, said it will ensure party loyalty. He said: “Where is the reward for party loyalty. People dump their parties to join APGA with so much money and buy off the tick ets only to return to their former party after winning the election.
This brand of politics must stop because our party is no longer a platform for political nomads. “The party is better poised to put things right and with this Code of Conduct, those jobbers have nothing to do and we as a party will not take kindly to this daylight rip-off on loyal party members.”
A National Assembly aspirant for Anambra East and West Federal Constituency Chief Chinedu Obidigwe, also noted that the decision of the party is a welcome development. According to him, it will only ensure that those who have capacity will certainly emerge as candidates of the party. “It is all about capacity of the aspirants, and members know those who are real party members and it is not going to be business as usual.”
Also speaking,a senatorial aspirant of the party in Anambra North District, Prince John Emeka, said: “Ahead of the primary elections of the party, it has become indeed instructive that we as party faithful should hing the choice of its senatorial candidate for Anambra North District on who is the real party man.”
He added: “APGA Anambra North needs a candidate that has been tasted and adjudged to have always carried party members along with formidable grassroots structures across the seven local government areas of the district. “Against this backdrop, I Prince John Emeka, most humbly offer myself as that real party man that would always interface with members from the wards to the senatorial district levels projecting and respecting party membership and leadership.”
As the party holds the primaries tomorrow, it is however left for the duo of Soludo and Ezeokenwa to perfect this novelty in the annals of party politics in Nigeria and should that come to be, the governor and APGA would have injected fresh impetus in that bid towards setting standards in party politics of the country.
