The All Progressives Congress has ruled out the possibility of issuing an automatic ticket for the Ondo State Governor, Honourable Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Disclosing this while speaking during an interview on Channels Television at the weekend, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, said the ruling party respects the due democratic process and everyone who desires nomination must earn it.
Morka explained further that a lack of internal democracy can lead to chaos and often violence due to the dissatisfaction within the party faithful, adding that the party had agreed that any party member who desired to run should show interest.
The APC chieftain who described internal democracy as the beauty of democracy, noted that a good number of Nigerian political parties had failed to embrace the practice of internal democracy
Also speaking on whether APC would give Aiyedatiwa the right of first refusal ahead of the party’s primary for the November poll in Ondo State, Morka said: “We have not had that discussion but we are a democratic party, we are a progressive party; we don’t give anything to people; people have to justify and earn it.
“They have to justify their suitability, their qualification, or criteria, it is to the people of the state who are our members, who would participate in the direct or indirect primary.
“Whatever preference anyone may have, it is all subject to the democratic decision of the party members, who will participate in our primary.
“We don’t give gifts in APC; we contest and we compete and we win whatever it is we can get in terms of representation.”
Morka further explained that he could not pre-empt whether the ticket would be zoned in Ondo or not because “We are yet to engage on zoning. We will explain to the people if and when we do that.”
Premium Politics reported that Aiyedatiwa was sworn in as the Governor of Ondo State, following the death of late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who died outside Nigeria last month, due to prostate issues.