Some members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have declared they are unperturbed over the decision of the party regarding automatic ticket and are ready to seek the party’s ticket in a primary election ahead of the 2027 general election.
Naijaonpoint reports that the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, described as fake news reports that it will grant automatic tickets to all National Assembly members.
In a statement on Tuesday, Morka stated that such reports should be disregarded.
However, the member representing Ido/Osi/Ilejeme Federal Constituency, Ekiti State, Kolawole Akinlayo, in an interview with Punch said he would seek a second term in 2027.
He said, “I will definitely go for a second term. It’s a must.”
Similarly, another member of the House who craved anonymity, declared his readiness for the primaries but insisted that the party must consider the place of institutional memory to the success of any parliament across the world.
According to him, the longer the period lawmakers spent in parliament, the better they became in terms of their understanding of the constitutional mandate of lawmaking, representation and oversight.
The lawmaker also noted that an automatic ticket does not guarantee success at the election, and urged the leadership of the party to make decisions in the best interest of the nation.
He said, “I am ready to go by whatever position the party takes. If they insist on primaries, I will be there, but it is important to remind ourselves that lawmakers are like wine: the older, the better.
“One of the drawbacks of the 10th National Assembly is the high rate of turnover of members who could not return in the 2023 election. It takes time for new ones to learn the ropes.
“If the party chooses a primary election to determine who will fly its ticket in 2027, it is democracy. I am not suggesting that everyone in parliament must return.
“We must decide what we want from our parliament and take the right decision in the interest of the nation.”