Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress party has welcomed the modified direct primaries introduced by the party for the conduct of the forthcoming Adamawa State gubernatorial by-election slated for October 11, 2014.
In a press statement issued by his media office in Abuja, the former Vice President said the modified direct primary is the best under the circumstances and nearest to the best under ideal democratic setting.
“I appealed to APC leaders to make Adamawa State a model for the conduct of free, fair and credible electoral process in the country,” he said.
The former vice president promised to lead the party leaders in the state to create a level-playing ground for all aspirants with such transparency that the election would set a standard for genuine democratic principles of fair play for all states to copy.
He assured that he would not interfere with the choice of a candidate the people of Adamawa will be making.The former Vice President also appealed to the PDP leaders to avoid the dangerous political tactics of playing up sentiments to polarize the people for political advantages.
“Unlike many of its neighbours, our state has enjoyed relative peace and stability and we don’t want them to bring divisions among our people who had lived peacefully with one another,” Atiku said.
According to Atiku, Nigerians would focus on how good governance can change their lives for the better instead of paying attention on the religion and ethnicity of elected public office holders. He said good performance has nothing to do with one’s religion or ethnicity.
