By Sunday Ajayi
Democracy is said to be the government of the people by the people and for the people.
From this definition above, one can deduce the fact that the principle of democracy is the involvement of the people at all levels which is why majority of the people around the world prefer Democratic System of Governance (DSG).
However, it has become pertinent for the leadership of the party in Kogi State to take clue from what happened in the just concluded Governorship election in Edo State as that election cannot said to have been won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rather it was All Progressive Congress against itself.
Having the understanding that allowing the tenet of internal democracy to thrive in a political party helps parties to grow, It is wise for the party to use the upcoming Local Government Elections which bestow the responsibility on the parties to produce a candidate that will represent the party in the said elections to allow the process to run freely, as that is the only way APC can continue to remain stronger in the state.
Though, it is parts of politics to lobby to outsmart your opponents in any contest but it will be far better for the system to throw up the best through a democratic process, it is advisable for the leadership of the party to allow all contestants who have the resources to purchase their nomination and intent forms, at the close of sales of such forms, party primaries should determine who is the choice of the people, not going through the back doors to curry the favour of the leaders.
Governor Yahaya Bello is known to a democrat and progressive to the core aside the facts that he is a man of destiny who God have predestined to be and by the grace of God, today he is the Executive Governor of Kogi State as reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in a unanimous judgment recently.
It behold on him and other leaders of the party in the State, not to support any undemocratic or clandestine moves by some individuals who are no longer popular back home but want to arm-twist the leaders to present them to the people, whereas it should be the people that should present them to the Governor if truly they have represented their people well since they had opportunity four years ago.
It is hope that Governor Yahaya Bello and other prominent leaders of the party in the state will listen to sense of reasoning by not giving attention to people who may want to blackmail the Government by hiding on the facts that the former Administrators are best fit for the job due to their personal aggrandizement.
It is a public knowledge that majority of the former Administrators/SSA have exulted their ability and ideas to transform the local government areas which is the cradle of democracy, the people at the grassroots are actually yearning for a new hands as shown by various agitations across the state since KOSIEC released the time table for the elections few weeks ago.
If APC, as a party wants to remain relevant in the state ahead of 2023 General Elections then how best they manage the upcoming Local Government Elections will go a long way to determine how strong the party will be.
It is obvious that the party needs to conduct free, fair and credible primaries in both the chairmen and councillorships across the 21 Local Government Areas and 239 wards in the state, as that remains the only saving grace to build a formidable platform ahead of future elections.
Sunday Ajayi Writing from Lokoja
