The Majority Leader of the Senate and member representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele has said that primary election would still take place to elect the standard bearer of the party for various elective positions for the 2027 elections despite the consensus arrangement.
Bamidele made this known on Monday in Abuja while addressing journalists after submitting his Senatorial form.
He stated: “In passing the electoral bill which was signed into law by Mr. President which is now the Electoral Act on the basis of which this electoral process is being conducted.
“What we passed was two manners of primary election either by direct primaries or by consensus. In any case there will always be primaries.
“Even where you have only one aspirant, there will still be primaries because even for someone who does not have anyone contesting or for someone who has been endorsed — by consensus, everybody will still go to the Ward, everybody will still participate in the primaries because. There will still be the need to do an endorsement, open endorsement at the ward level.
“So there’s nothing that can be done under the table whether you are doing direct primaries or you are doing consensus.
“But we feel that in situations where stakeholders agree on a particular candidate, they should be able to come through by way of consensus.
“But where you have even only one person disagreeing with the consensus approach, then definitely there must be primaries.
“In which case there will be direct primaries. The only thing we eliminated was the direct primaries because we didn’t think a few people in the name of delegates should take decisions on behalf of the people.”
Bamidele stressed that stakeholders within his central district expressed satisfaction about the quality of representation and they decided not to contest against him
He noted: “I didn’t have to do anything to discourage that. It’s just that no other person has obtained the form. And it’s not by any form of coercion.
“Now, this does not mean that the same thing will happen in all the three central districts in Ekiti or in all the 109 central districts wards in the state.
“But that’s my own experience which is personal. But again, like I said in the event that anyone disagrees with a consensus arrangement, the law is that there must be primaries.”