“I think it will be more difficult to buy over 200,000 people than 7,000 people.”
It said the party would be adopting a modified version of the direct primary, which he said was one of the options prescribed by the Independent National Electoral Commission for parties to choose their candidates for various elections.
He said, “The party discussed guidelines of primaries, and principally, the party has decided that the primaries will start as early as October.
“We would want to ensure the participation of a large section of our people. We have opted on what we called a modified direct primary for the party.
“INEC says, you either do a direct or indirect primary. We’ve opted for the direct. We’ve opted for a method that will ensure the largest participation of our members.
“We now called it modified because we are also aware of certain constraints to getting all your 20million of members or thereabout to queue up for elections especially in areas where we have security challenges like Yobe and Adamawa states.
“So we are working out a formula that will still enable the largest members of our party to participate. What I can assure you is that we are not settling for delegates election. We want to get people from the grassroot to be involved in our primaries because we want to show the world that we are different, and that our party and our primaries will be not only be grassroots inspired, it will also be transparent and it will be free.”
Mohammed also said the party commended INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, for stating that hooded security men would not be used for future elections in the country.
On the rallies for Jonathan’s second term bid, Mohammed lamented that the president and his party were violating the electoral guidelines without anybody to challenge them.
He said, “I think the PDP has already come up with its candidate. I think we must be fooling ourselves if we think that all these orchestrated dramas about asking Jonathan to come and run are to believed.
“But what we are saying is that Mr. President and the PDP are violating the electoral guidelines with impunity and nobody to stop them.
“But I can assure you that we, in the APC are not threatened by the emergence of any candidate. The only thing that is threatening us is the absence of a level playing field.
“If today a free and fair election is conducted in Nigeria we are very confident that we are going to defeat PDP. But we will insist that a level playing field is procured.”
On Ribadu’s defection, the party said it was not worried, as the exit of just one person would not affect its fortune in the forthcoming Adamawa election.
Mohammed said, “The beauty of our politics is the freedom of association. No party will want to lose any of its member, but frankly speaking, we believe that the APC is such a strong brand with a strong followership in Adamawa and all over Nigeria that the defection of any one person will not adversely affect our fortune and we have moved on.”
He added that the party’s demand for lifting of curfew during the bye-election in Adamawa was to ensure a free and fair election.
He said, “I think one thing the party insisted on with the state of emergency in Adamawa State today for the election to be free and fair, the party will insist that the curfew, imposed on the state be lifted and temporarily during the election time.
“I don’t want to be misquoted, I don’t want to be misunderstood, we are not saying they should lift state of emergency, we are saying the curfew must be suspended for the period of the election.”
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