The New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, stressed its determination to win 2023 general election based on its preparations and the current reality in the country.
The National Secretary NNPP, Major Gilbert Agbo (rtd) stated this in an interview with Voice of Nigeria’s Correspondent in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Major Agbo said that NNPP’s main Agenda ahead of the 2023 general election is to focus on government at grass root level to ensure direct democratic participation in the country.
“For us our focus is on the grass root, the ordinary people. You probably would have noticed we don’t put emphasis at the top. We are determined to provide leadership level from the local government, to the State Assembly as well as the National Assembly.
“We are very representative in our focus; we want to ensure that we provide leadership to our people. After the last election what we’ve done is to go back to the drawing board to try to get deeper and deeper into the grass root and that’s what we’ve being doing all this while. Our focus remains the same” he said.
On the issue of Direct Primaries election Major Agbo explained that, the system has advantages and disadvantages to Nigerian Democracy.
“Direct Primaries makes the process of selecting candidates more participatory for every member of the political Party every member of a political party will come out to indicate the candidate that he or she would want to fly the party’s flag at the various level is no longer a delegate election to elect candidates.
“The implication of indirect primaries is that the younger parties that haven’t formed government and have no resources will now begin to run around to fund logistics for the elections. It requires a lot of funding.
And the implication is that if the party is running around and they are unable to generate the funding required to prosecute the direct primaries, from what they have, then the chances of money bags hijacking the process becomes even more elaborate.
“So the money bags who formed it will also want to determine who and who are candidates at the various levels. So this issue of direct primaries is very knotty. Yes, it is a beautiful agenda but then it also has its implications especially on the democracy.”
On Strengthening Nigeria’s Electoral process.
“we strongly believe that if we want a better electoral system, we just have to key in and go electronic so that the chances of manipulating either at the point of voting or at the various point of coalition is reduced that’s the only way we can have an electoral system that will be clean and that Nigeria will be proud of.” he stressed
The Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021, especially clause 52(3) which indicated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may transmit elections results by electronic means and conducting Direct Primaries elections in the country.
But President Buhari declined to assent to the Electoral Amendment Act Bill stating that, Direct Primaries will increase the cost of conducting elections, create huge security challenges, marginalizing small political parties, and infringe on citizens’ right.
The President said it will better to allow each Political Party to determine its mode of selecting candidates for election. This is the fifth time President Buhari will decline to assent the Electoral Amendment Bill.
Suzan O.
