Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has revealed why he pushed for direct primaries.
Gatekeepers News reports that the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila said that he supported direct primaries in the electoral bill to make public servants and political officer holders more accountable to the people.
He also noted that the direct primaries would encourage youth participation in politics.
Gbajabiamila said this while hosting a delegation of the Nigerian youths led by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare on a thank-you visit for his role on direct primaries in Abuja, FCT.
He added that some members of the political class may not be comfortable with the arrangement as a way of electing candidates from the political parties but that the majority of the masses were in support of direct primaries.
He further noted that the mode would give them the opportunity of deciding who would represent them.
Gbajabiamila said, “If I know that my return will depend on some few men, I may care about you. But if I know that my return will depend on my accountability and representation to the people, I will do the right thing.
“It is important for this generation to open the door of leadership to the next generation. We must allow every Nigerian to participate fully in the process of leadership. I, therefore, stand with Direct Primary.
“That’s why I said at different fora that I’m for direct primaries. We have to do this for the sake of the institution.
“When you gather yourselves (as youths), chances are that you’ll win. Democracy is a government of the people. Democracy is not just a general election. It starts from the primaries.
“Since the Not Too Young to Run became law, you’ve not taken advantage of that. The Act appears to be a paper tiger. The enabling environment to work for that Act isn’t capitalized on.”
Gbajabiamila appreciated the minister for leading the youths delegation to thank him for the role he played in ensuring the inclusion of direct primaries as the only method of electing political parties’ candidates for elections.
