A media strategist, writer, and member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Macauley Hunohashi, has described the choice of the direct primaries option in the selection of candidates for all political parties, by members of the National Assembly, as a non-negotiable option that can deepen internal democracy and guarantee inclusion in Nigerian political firmament.
Hunohashi, who stated this at a media briefing in Abuja, was of the view that allowing all card-carrying members of a political party to exercise their franchise, as against a situation where a few power brokers would seat in their comfort zone and decide who would be a flag-bearer, has always been counterproductive.
He emphasized that politics is local and therefore the process of selecting those that will lead should be bottom-up, stating that it is one sure way we can have square pegs that would perfectly fit the square holes.
Hunohaahi said the pressure being mounted on the Minister of Justice, by some governors, to stop President Buhari from asserting the amended electoral law is antithetical to a pragmatic democratic inclusiveness
“I think any politician who is popular should not be scared of direct primary option because the people are supposed to own the party and if you have a grip of the grassroots your people will always be by your side” he noted.
Hunohashi enjoined all registered members of the APC not to remain complacent in exercising their franchise of making the right choices at the polls, because “2023 is a threshold to make the difference in our polity and we are the ones who can reposition the political trajectory for a more prosperous nation”.
