By Godwin Agia, Jalingo
The Senatorial aspirant for Taraba North, Hon. Kabiru Bello Bandawaire, has rejected moves toward consensus in the All Progressives Congress primaries, insisting on a direct and transparent process.
Bandawaire made this known on Friday in Jalingo while interacting with newsmen, noted that his priority is representing the people, not the government, and argued that consensus undermines democratic choice.
Bandawaire questioned why a three-term senator would push for consensus instead of primaries, asking, "What is the fear about? If you opt for consensus in the primary election, what about the general elections? That is not democracy.
"First and foremost, it is not about the government, it is about the people. I am representing the interest of the people, on this issue of consensus, I am not consenting to it at all. All I want is direct primaries, and direct primaries should be under a transparent process. The beauty of democracy is that the majority is always welcome.
"The fillers I am getting are that the governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, needs to do more homework. People are digging a grave for him. I am begging him to please allow direct primaries to go on seamlessly. He should not interfere, because interference will have a negative effect," he said.
Bandawaire while reacting to comments at a recent stakeholders’ meeting that primaries waste resources, he explained that it is the party, not the state government should fund the process.
He challenged the governor to test his own stance on consensus by asking the incumbent northern senator to step down for him.
"The party sold forms, we purchased forms. I purchased a form for N20,000,000, likewise other people, so the party has the responsibility to fund its activities, not the state government.
"Since I am not consenting to consensus, let the governor try whether the northern senator will consent to consensus by choosing me, and see whether he will agree. If he is not going to agree, why should I agree?" he said.
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