Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has described the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s use of consensus for governorship primaries, especially in Ogun State, as “extortion” and “plutocracy” that undermined democracy.
Falana spoke yesterday at the 8th Penpushing Annual Lecture held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, themed: “Restoring Electoral Integrity: The Path to Good Governance and Public Accountability.”
He argued that electoral integrity cannot exist without transparent party primaries.
“Please, let us stop deceiving ourselves. If you are going to talk about electoral integrity, you must start with the primaries,” he said.
According to him, consensus arrangements denied party members the right to freely choose their candidates, even though the Electoral Act allowed both direct and consensus methods.
The SAN also raised the alarm over what he called growing threats to Nigeria’s multi-party system, warning that deregistering political parties and blocking others from elections could trigger a political crisis.
“Political exclusion has historically encouraged undemocratic forces to undermine democratic institutions across Africa,” Falana said.
He further condemned the monetisation of politics, citing the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who alleged that some governorship aspirants spent between ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion during primaries.
“If you are spending between ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion on a primary election, how much are you going to spend in the real election?” he asked.
