Former Senator Ayodele Arise, who represented Ekiti North Senatorial District, has called on President Bola Tinubu to step into the controversy surrounding the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary in Ekiti North, describing the exercise as deeply flawed and inconsistent with democratic ideals.
Arise, an APC chieftain and one of the contestants in the primary election, made the appeal in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.
The APC primary committee had declared the incumbent senator, Cyril Fasuyi, winner of the contest. However, Arise and other aspirants, including Dipo Bamisaye and Dare Owolabi, rejected the result, alleging that the process was manipulated and lacked credibility.
Commenting on the outcome, the former lawmaker said the issue highlighted the persistent challenge of internal democracy within political parties.
“When we talk about internal democracy, it is still a very big challenge. It’s one thing for us to have a Constitution; it’s another thing for people to try to circumvent it or the guidelines for any election. That was demonstrated in no small measure when I tried to come back through the primary.
“I knew what was in the pipeline, yet I went into it to prove a point. It will be a shame if some of us pass through this country and still don’t have the voice to correct the anomalies and allow people to practise true democracy. If we don’t want it, it’s a different kettle of fish,” he said.
Although dissatisfied with the conduct of the primary, Arise expressed confidence that the APC leadership and President Tinubu were aware of the concerns raised by aggrieved aspirants.
“I really don’t want to overbeat the experience I had during the primary because I believe Mr President and the chairman of the party are looking at all the challenges. I am sure those of us who worked and won our elections will be given our mandate in due course,” he stated.
The former senator also said he was optimistic that the appeal panel set up by the APC National Working Committee would objectively examine his petition and other complaints arising from the exercise.
“I am not lobbying. But I have put the facts on the table, and I have presented them to those reviewing the election, and I believe we still have men of good conscience at the helm of affairs in this country who know what is right. Moving forward, we should put some guidelines in place to ensure people don’t misunderstand democracy to mean someone in power appointing people to different places.
“We want to showcase the best in our country and prove that we understand democracy. We need to know who voters want to represent them. I agree that there are so many things that have improved in the past 27 years of our electoral process. We have to give kudos to those who fine-tuned the processes.
“I believe, more than anybody else, that our President has been very proactive in terms of fixing some of these challenges, working on them and making corrections before it’s too late. So, as far as the internal democracy within parties is concerned, we still have quite a distance to cover.”
Arise further attributed many of the disputes that trail party primaries to the enormous political influence often exercised by incumbent governors, arguing that such influence can make electoral contests uneven.
“The issue of the governor’s influence is still a major problem in trying to get to the Senate, even when you are not contesting against them. The reason is that governance and political office in Nigeria have been seen as a source of wealth accumulation.
“Therefore, unseating a governor who wants to go to the Senate is a very difficult task. That’s because of the quantum of public funds he will be deploying. I don’t know how, actually, we are going to get out of this,” he said.
Speaking on President Tinubu’s Democracy Day address, Arise described the speech as encouraging and reflective of both the administration’s accomplishments and the realities facing the country.
“It’s a speech of encouragement to Nigerians and a reality to let us know that things just don’t happen as quickly as we expect. If you want to build a house, you will know that it doesn’t have to take six months. Some houses will take one year, depending on the challenges that come with it.
“However, in terms of laying the foundation for an enduring democracy, I think Mr President is actually doing very well to showcase some of his achievements and the things he has planned for the development of this country.”