Osinbajo, Gbajabiamila battle over Direct Primaries
Investigation has revealed battle between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Speaker House of Representatives Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila over direct primary election.
Sources close to Presidency disclosed that the battle took place at a caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on debate for and against Direct Primary Election method at the Aso Rock Villa on Tuesday. The debate according to the source was attended by APC Governors, Caretaker leaders, National Assembly Lawmakers and the Vice President.
“The meeting eventually turned out to be a Court Room where two major lawyers stood in front of a Judge to make their points,” he disclosed.
The source added that the two lawyers led both camps. According to him, Osinbajo was the lead counsel for the apostles against Direct Primary while Femi Gbajabiamila was the lead attorney for the Pro-Direct Primary.
“No sooner than later, the Vice President who is known to be calm became uneasy and unsettled that his oratory skills failed to sway the lawmakers to undo the Direct Primary they voted for and concluded work on, both in the Senate and House chambers a few hours before the Villa meeting,” he noted.
He pointed out that Gbajabiamila reeled out his compelling argument in favour of Direct Primaries amidst pin-drop silence followed by thunderous applause from Senators and House of Reps members in attendance.
“Sometimes ambition can turn a Politician against the wishes of the people, what else could make anyone be silently brutal against Direct Primary if not 2023 ambition,” he said.
He said the maturity and intellectual disposition of Femi became obvious to the APC members in the hall, that Direct Primary gives the masses power to determine a party’s flag bearer from Local Government to Presidential level, a noble credence to the potency and viability of grassroots members of any political party. More importantly, he disclosed that majority of APC leaders at the meeting supported Direct Primary on the ground that it cures the forbidden fruit milling around the legality of using a Caretaker Committee with a sitting Governor to present the party’s flag bearers to INEC. Other benefits of Direct Primary require the participation of many, not a few bourgeoisie. This, he said, will legitimize internal party elections and even congresses supervised by the caretaker committee, and further save APC from any future judicial reprimand.
He said, “How the lawmakers of Northern extraction and Southerners alike particularly former Governors now Senators were able to align with Gbaja’s exposé ahead of the other lead counsel was the biggest mystery to non-parliamentarians at the meeting.
However, he said the National Assembly members succeeded in getting a Presidential nod for Direct Primaries as President Buhari always canvassed for this, knowing his talakawa background.
“Now, all politicians will sit up and be more responsible to those who elected them into office.”
He warned that the journey to 2023 has started.
He urged the Youths, Nigerian women and social media politicians, at home and diaspora to drop their hesitancy and go to their various wards and local communities to join political parties of their choice where they will have vantage privilege to initiate the reforms in leadership recruitment for the country.
