THE DANGER BEFORE KOGI: WHY APC AND OPPOSITION MUST RESIST THE PLAN TO AVOID PRIMARIES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
Pastor Stanley Ajileye
Reports reaching the public indicate that some leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kogi State, particularly those loyal to the former governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, are currently meeting in Lokoja to perfect a plan that would prevent real primaries from holding for the forthcoming Local Government elections. If this plot succeeds, Kogi State may once again witness a repeat of what transpired in the last LG election cycle, a carefully orchestrated selection process, dressed in the garments of democracy but lacking every essential ingredient of popular participation.
The tenure of the current Local Government officials is expected to expire in October next year. Ordinarily, this period should herald healthy political activity within parties, contests of ideas, grassroots mobilisation, emergence of new leaders and transparent primaries. Instead, what we are witnessing is a desperate plan to circumvent democratic competition before the race even begins. More troubling is the revelation that the so called consensus arrangement is nothing but a scheme to return all the present office holders, individuals who have never demanded full Local Government allocations and who are considered completely submissive to the central authority. This is not consensus, it is a calculated attempt to retain a set of politically convenient placeholders rather than allow new leaders with independence and integrity to emerge.
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A meeting convened not by the people but by power brokers is allegedly proposing that the APC will not conduct genuine primaries for the 21 Chairmanship positions and 239 Councillorship seats. The implication is clear, handpicked candidates, loyalty over competence and imposition over choice. This is not democracy, this is internal authoritarianism masquerading as party strategy.
This renewed move bears a striking similarity to the events preceding the last Local Government elections in Kogi. Then, as now, the political machinery was manipulated to exclude legitimate aspirants, silence dissent and enthrone pre selected favourites under the guise of consensus. The message is obvious, those who once used power arbitrarily now seek to use influence to achieve the same ends, even outside office. If the political class, both within the APC and across opposition parties, fails to act, the state risks being boxed into a predetermined political outcome, with devastating consequences for governance at the grassroots.
The Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act both underscore democracy, participation and periodic elections as the foundation of government at all levels. Democracy demands free choice of candidates, transparent primaries, internal party democracy and participation of members at the grassroots. The plan to avoid primaries violates Section 14(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that the participation of the people in their government shall be ensured, a provision that imposition completely cancels. It also violates Section 7 of the Constitution, which guarantees democratically elected Local Government councils. Democracy begins from the party primary stage. If primaries are stage managed, the eventual election becomes merely ceremonial. The plan further contradicts provisions of the Electoral Act requiring parties to follow laid down rules for candidate selection, rules that emphasise fairness and transparency. Even the APC Constitution demands democratic procedures, including primaries or genuine consensus, not coerced or pre arranged deals. What is happening in Kogi, if allowed, will not only undermine constitutional order, it will set a precedent encouraging the use of sheer political might to override popular will.
Beyond illegality, the move carries inherent dangers for Kogi’s stability and political future. First, it will deepen internal party crises. Imposition of candidates is the leading cause of party fragmentation, pre election defections, anti party activities and election loss through protest votes. APC in Kogi cannot afford such internal combustion. Second, it will weaken democracy at the grassroots. Local Government is the closest government to the people. When those who emerge are not elected by party members but by a select cabal, the consequences are poor governance, zero accountability, worsening corruption and a total disconnect from the people. Grassroots democracy dies when primaries die.
Third, it will entrench financial manipulation. The plan to return sitting officials, who are known never to demand full Local Government allocations, is not only politically dangerous but economically disastrous. Local Councils will remain financially impotent, unable to perform their constitutional duties and forever dependent on higher powers. This breeds underdevelopment and misappropriation.
Fourth, it will embolden future abuses of power. Today, they want to stop primaries, tomorrow, they may eliminate internal elections entirely. Once political impunity is not challenged, it grows into a tradition. Fifth, it will create instability and public resentment. People who are shut out of the democratic process eventually resort to protest, rebellion within parties or legal confrontation. Political tension in Kogi is already high and this move will ignite more. Sixth, it undermines the legitimacy of whoever emerges. A leader imposed by a handful of political godfathers cannot claim popular mandate, grassroots acceptance or moral authority to govern. Leadership without legitimacy breeds constant crisis.
The danger ahead is not partisan, it is a threat to everyone, including genuine APC loyalists who wish to contest, opposition parties hoping for fair competition, the general electorate who expect democracy and even the state government whose legitimacy is tied to fairness. All stakeholders must pick up their thinking caps and avoid being caught unaware. The time to act is now.
APC members must insist on internal democracy, petition the national leadership and resist any attempt to impose candidates. Opposition parties should monitor the process closely and challenge illegality in court if necessary. Civil society organisations should speak up, silence is approval. Media houses must expose these machinations and ensure transparency. The state government must be reminded that democracy is not a favour, it is a constitutional obligation.
The plan to avoid real primaries in Kogi State is undemocratic, unconstitutional, dangerous and unacceptable. This is not about who gets what position, it is about the soul of democracy in Kogi State. If political actors fail to rise to the occasion, the state risks sliding into a dark era where the will of a few overrides the right of many. But if they stand firm, Kogi can reclaim its democratic dignity and ensure that leadership emerges from the people and for the people.
Stanley Ajileye, a clergy, is a media / political consultant in Kogi State Nigeria.
