November 28, (THEWILL) – A former member of the House of Representatives, Chief Bode Mustapha, has urged state governors across the 36 states of the federation to contest the direct primary mode in the Electoral Reform Act should President Muhammadu Buhari accent to the bill.
Already reactions have continue to pour in due to the passage of the bill as some state governors on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) have kicked against the decision of the lawmakers on the direct primaries mode of picking their candidates for election in the country
Mustapha, who spoke in an exclusive interview with THEWILL in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, wondered why the legislators would deliberate on the bill to adopt direct mode of primaries in the first place, insisting that the governors should approach the court if Buhari signs it.
The ex-lawmaker, who represented Abeokuta North, Obafemi Owode and Odeda Federal Constituency between 1999 and 2003, maintained that it was not the duty of the lawmakers to interfere on how political parties should run their affairs, saying that the refusal of the president to sign the bill would only strengthen democracy in the nation
The Osi of Egbaland, however, urged President Buhari not to assent to the bill, while calling on state governors to strongly oppose it at the Supreme Court f should the president accent to it, stressing that the legislators through the passage of the bill were trying to bite the fingers that fed them.
“I used to be part of National working Committee of PDP. We will have guidelines for our parties , each parties can decide guidelines for these primaries. And if i were the governors i will go and contest this in court if Mr President sign it. If he doesn’t assent to the bill it will be best for us but if he does it, it should be challenge in the court.”
“I think they are going beyond the mandate they have to make laws for the federation and not the political parties. I will like to oppose what they have done .
“It is not business of the people at the parliament to go into how political parties should run their affairs or modus operandi. To make it worst all these people at the parliament are products of the party, they are products of the same system that they are now opposing.”
“A lot of them would not have gotten the ticket to run for their office if their governors had not supported them to get the tickets. So why do you want to flatten the goal post in the middle of the Night, So i am totally opposed to it, it is not part of their responsibilities at all, they should not be part of the electoral act at all.” he added
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