8th November, 2010
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has condemned an alleged plan by the National Assembly to insert a new clause that will regulate political parties’ primaries, into the Electoral Act.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, the party described the move as “a wrong one and a damper on the nationâ€
“This is wrong. It is not for the National Assembly or INEC to tell all political parties how to conduct their primaries.
“Democracy cannot grow through such regimentation. We reject it in its entirety,â€Â the party said in the statement.
It urged state Houses of Assembly to reject the insertion of such clause in the Act, saying that the move was not only undemocratic but could rob parties of the opportunity to determine how their candidates would emerge.
“If you say that all parties must conduct their primaries in the 774 local government areas and the 36 states, who will provide the fund?,” it asked.
The party said the issue of determining the candidates to fly the partyâ€