Former Vice President and President, Goodluck Jonathan has frowned at the ongoing primary elections.
Reports have it that delegates have been offered money by aspirants to vote for them.
The Informant247 had reported how the son of the former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, requested the refund of the money he offered delegates, before primaries to vote for him. He demanded the refund of his money after securing just two votes in the primary election.
While speaking on Thursday in Abuja, the country capital, at a launching of book titled “Political Party Governance” and which was authored by Dr. Mohammed Wakil, a former Minister of State, Power, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan said it was a disgrace the manner delegates were induced with money to vote for aspirants and thereafter the election being told to refund the money.
Jonathan said: “These whole primaries going on across the country is a mess. This is not a standard practice. The process has failed.
“We cannot use the process to elect president, governors, senators and House of Representatives members and others.
“The process is already failed, which is not good for the country. But we will manage and move on.
“We pray that good people should come. I hope that what happened this year, 2022 will not happen again in this country.”
The former President, therefore, admonished the National Assembly to make legislation that forbids politicians from inducing delegates and electorates.
He also asked the legislators to remove from the Electoral Act, the parts that spell out how political parties would select candidates for elections.
Jonathan said: “The National Assembly can’t make laws and lock all political parties together. Parties have different ways of nominating candidates and the process is enshrined in their constitutions.
“Creating a situation where all parties must have the same way of selecting candidates is nonsense. Parties are not parastatals of government.
“The National Assembly can’t make laws to strangulate political parties. Section 84 should be expunged from the Electoral Act.”