APC crisis: Marafa talks tough over indirect primaries, reveals what he’ll do

Senator Kabir Marafa

A governorship aspirant in Zamfara State, Senator Kabir Marafa has said that most of the congresses of the All Progressives Congress, APC, held in various states were rubbish.

The lawmaker also vowed that he and his group will go ahead with the direct primary with the state party executive having adopted the indirect primary system.

Marafa said he was not bothered by the purported decision of his state governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, to embark on indirect elections for the forthcoming governorship primaries in the state.

He said his group would conduct its own direct primaries and then wait for the courts to decide who the authentic flagbearer of the party would be.

The Senator spoke yesterday when he visited the national secretariat of the party to pick his nomination and expression of interest forms.

Marafa said, “Let me first of all say this, I don’t think there is any doubt, I have once said it after the conclusion of the congresses that time, I made a very clear call that I see the activities of fifth columnists in the APC that know they cannot defeat President in the general election.

“So, the common fear is the fear of second term of President Muhammadu Buhari. Then, if you cannot beat directly, how do you beat him indirectly?

“So, that was why the congresses were done, deliberately in such a way that they cannot withstand legal scrutiny.

“In more than 21 states, there were parallel congresses and like I said that time, I don’t need to be a lawyer, I don’t need to be a retired judge to know that what held in most of the states was nothing but rubbish.

“The guidelines said that the party constitution provides for consensus, but in the absence of consensus, there should be election.

“In most of these states, people made payments into APC account, obtained their tellers but the governors feel they were demi-gods that feel they must be worshiped, and that they are the ones that can determine the attitude of every human being in Nigeria and we said that look, you cannot do that.

“There are some of us that are radically inclined, you can’t threaten us, that is exactly what happened. Now, glory be to God, under the present leadership of the APC today, they swore that these people don’t mean well for this party, so, let us insulate ourselves and our president, that is why the APC said, Presidential election is by direct primaries.

“If APC says go for indirect, I will do my direct with my own set of executives, they will do their indirect with their own set of executives. So, when the time comes for the courts to rule, if they say Marafa is right, it means they are going home and would retire from politics.”

-Daily Post