BY ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA
Ekiti State Governor, His Excellency Biodun Oyebanji and the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have not breached the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the APC Constitution and the Electoral Act in adopting consensus mode to choose candidates in the forthcoming Local Government Election.
Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, political parties are free to adopt consensus to elect or select candidates for their primaries in the lead-up to Local Government Elections, Area Councils Elections (as it applies to the Federal Capital Territory), Governorship and State Assembly Elections, Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
The nation's Electoral Laws and Political Parties' Constitutions allow for the use of three modes to choose candidates which are: CONSENSUS (where all party members agree and there is no dissent), DIRECT PRIMARY (in which all registered and financial members of the party vote to choose candidates) and INDIRECT PRIMARY (in which only elected delegates vote to choose candidates).
Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the consensus mode is a legitimate, lawful and constitutional exercise backed by the relevant laws of the land and can be adopted by any party that seems it fit, proper and acceptable for the conduct of a valid primary elections.
In fact, the National Working Committee of the APC led by the National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, showed example of the acceptability of the consensus in adopting the mode for the primary election that produced Governor Biodun Oyebanji as the party's flag bearer for the June 20, 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State.
The Ekiti APC leaders, comprising of Governor Oyebanji, former Governors, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; serving National Assembly members, the party's State Working Committee, Elders' Forum and other key organs and caucuses, in their wisdom resolved to adopt consensus mode because of their belief that "it is the best in the present circumstances" in the party.
In this short piece, I want to enumerate some advantages of the consensus mode of primary which the state APC leaders might have seen for them to have resolved in sync with their followers and teeming party members to adopt that mode of primary for the election of candidates for the forthcoming LG polls.
The consensus mode of primary has been identified as an antidote to post-primary election crisis that usually dog elective primaries with past experiences of parties reeling from bitter acrimony that usually trail primary elections resulting from "the winner-takes-all and grab-the-ticket-and-walk-away mentality" of winners.
The consensus mode also prevent aspirants from engaging in unnecessary waste of resources and heavy spending which makes them desperate to torpedo due process and regulations guiding the conduct of elective primaries. Some aspirants used to sell properties like houses, land and other assets to plough the proceeds into primary elections and the successful ones would be eager to recoup the money spent from the treasury whenever they get to office.
The consensus mode will also prevent the corruption associated with elective primaries in which delegates are camped in different hotels but some delegates still find their way to collect money from different aspirants when they know that one of them will emerge as flag bearer of the party at the main election.
The consensus mode of primary fosters discipline and party supremacy among party leaders, aspirants and their supporters further describing the mode as "an important determinant of the true test of loyalty of party members" most especially when the result of the consensus does not favour them.
The consensus mode gives aspirants who belongs to minority communities, minority sub-ethnic nationalities and minority religious blocs opportunities to be chosen as candidates which may not be possible if the process is subjected to elective mode of primary. Lopsided distribution of elective and appointed offices are corrected through consensus primary mode.
Unlike the elective mode of primary, the consensus mode helps to cement party unity, peace and harmony, prevents the hijack of party structure and machinery by moneybags and helps to minimize cash-and-carry politics that usually dogs the use of delegates allowed by elective mode of primary.
*Ogunmola serves as Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media (Print Media)
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