A member of the House of Representatives, Clement Jimbo, has defended the scrapping of indirect primaries in the newly amended Electoral Act, arguing that the move will curb money politics and strengthen Nigeria’s democracy.
Jimbo, who represents Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday. He maintained that indirect primaries undermine democratic principles.
“If you observe the indirect primaries, it was completely against Nigerians and electorates.
“If you define democracy as the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, if the majority of the people are not participants in electing who becomes their flag bearer, then it wasn’t democracy,” he said.
The comments come amid nationwide debate over the 2026 Electoral Act recently signed into law. While the previous legislation permitted political parties to adopt direct primaries, indirect primaries, or consensus, the amended law eliminates the indirect option.
Despite criticism from some quarters, Jimbo said the amendment reflects the will of most Nigerians.
“Many of the civil societies have equally come to agree that this obnoxious way of electing candidates from political parties through indirect ways is inducing. In the indirect way of electing candidates, that’s where monies are induced,” he said.
According to him, aspirants with financial muscle often dominate indirect primaries by influencing delegates.
“We are saying that since you have as much money as you think you have, you should come and buy all your political party members,” Jimbo said. “Let all of them pay, then we will know that you are very rich.”
He further argued that indirect primaries fuelled godfatherism and distorted internal party democracy.
“Now that we have the opportunity to amend this, we said, ‘No, let the real merit and intent of how we defined democracy come to be. Let the people who elect the officials begin by electing them to become the candidates in the first place.’
“So we expunged the indirect way of electing a candidate, which is indirect primaries. Let it be either consensus or direct primaries, where all of the political party members will queue behind who they so choose to become their candidate in the next election,” he explained.
Jimbo also referenced provisions of Section 77(1–7), noting that election preparation begins once the Independent National Electoral Commission releases its timetable.
Calling for public support, the 43-year-old lawmaker said the National Assembly acted in the broader national interest.
“The Parliament is there to take the interest of Nigerians to the fore; we are elected members of the parliament representing the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
“We can not just allow an infinitesimal number of Nigerians to take a major decision that will affect the outcome of our collective patrimony. That’s why the National Assembly came in,” he said.
The amended law has sparked intense debate, particularly over result transmission ahead of the 2027 general elections. It provides for electronic transmission of results, with a manual backup in the event of technical failure.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 into law.
