2019: NRM to adopt direct primaries

National Rescue Movement (NRM)

National Rescue Movement (NRM)

National Rescue Movement (NRM)

The National Rescue Movement (NRM), a registered political party, has said that it would adopt direct primaries to elect its flag bearers in the 2019 general elections.

The party’s National Chairman, Sen. Saidu Dansadau, disclosed this at the sidelines of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party on Monday in Abuja.

Dansadau described direct primary as the best method of electing candidates of political parties in any election, saying it was capable of eliminating rigging and other electoral irregularities.

He said, “the NRM is going to do direct primaries to elect its candidates for various elective positions for 2019 general elections.

“NRM believes that indirect primary is always characterized with corruption, impunity and not the best way of electing party’s flag bearers.

“This is why we are going for direct primary to ensure that the people’s candidates are presented for the elections through credible primaries.’’

The chairman said that as a party with national interest, love for youths and women, cost of NRM’s forms for all elective positions would be between N100, 000 and N500, 000.

He said that the decision was in line with a recent “Not-Too-Poor-To-Run’’ campaign launched by the party.

“It is a campaign where poor people can come to our party to run for elective positions with our forms selling between N100, 000 to less than N500, 000, including the presidential election.

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“We also resolved to give our forms free of charge to women and People-Living-With-Disabilities (PLWD).

“Our forms are not to make profit, but just mainly administrative charges to take care of necessary expenses.’’

He said that the party was being funded by its members who registered with N100 through scratch cards, explaining that “once you load our scratch card, your name goes straight to our database at the national headquarters.’’

“Seventy percent of that amount for the registration fee goes to the polling units executives to empower their members, while the remaining 30 percent goes to the headquarters.’’

Dansadau urged members of the party, especially aspirants to ensure that they complied with the party’s Constitution, Electoral Act and the Nigerian Constitution.

On uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), he said that the cards may belong to those registered with fake names to engender rigging.

He said that those with genuine reasons to elect credible leaders for the country would have collected their PVCs.

“The party believes that the uncollected PVCs are for people who registered with fake names in order to perpetrate rigging but when they found out that there was no way they could use it, they abandoned the PVCs.

“We commend INEC for its good work because there was no way people that registered with fake names can use PVCs.’’

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