Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has described the All Progressives Congress, APC’s use of consensus for governorship primaries, especially in Ogun State, as “extortion” and “plutocracy” that undermines democracy.

Falana spoke on Thursday at the 8th Penpushing Annual Lecture held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, themed“Restoring Electoral Integrity: The Path to Good Governance and Public Accountability.”

He argued that electoral integrity cannot exist without transparent party primaries.  

“Please, let us stop deceiving ourselves. If you are going to talk about electoral integrity, you must start with the primaries,” he said.  

According to him, consensus arrangements deny party members the right to freely choose their candidates, even though the Electoral Act allows both direct and consensus methods.

The SAN also raised alarm over what he called growing threats to Nigeria’s multi-party system, warning that deregistering political parties and blocking others from elections could trigger a political crisis.  

“Political exclusion has historically encouraged undemocratic forces to undermine democratic institutions across Africa,” Falana said.

He further condemned the monetisation of politics, citing the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who alleged that some governorship aspirants spent between ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion during primaries.  

“If you are spending between ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion on a primary election, how much are you going to spend in the real election?” he asked.  

Falana alleged that such huge sums could not have come from legitimate sources, and that the practice promotes corruption and weakens democracy.

He called for urgent reforms to strengthen internal party democracy, curb the commercialisation of politics, and preserve the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic process.

Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) has acknowledged the importance of the upcoming continental under-17 championship in Kigali, Rwanda and expressed confidence in the ability of the country’s team to emerge from the competition with top marks, Sports247 reports.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Under 19 Cricket Team Secures Vital Victory at ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers

The vote of confidence came as the countdown gets tighter towards the commencement of healthy hostilities at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifiers Division 2, which will take place from August 9th to August 15th, as confirmed by International Cricket Council (ICC).

Games of the six-nation tournament will take place across two venues – Gahanga Cricket Stadium Grounds and RP-Kigali Oval – and the Nigerian squad will tango five other African nations for a place in the next stage of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup qualification series.

Uganda, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Ghana and hosts Rwanda are the countries Nigeria will have to overcome, while aiming to continue their impressive rise in African cricket, as they seek qualification for the next phase en route to the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

While highlighting Nigeria’s preparations for the competition, a statement by the NCF noted in part, “The tournament is an important step on the road to the U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, with the top three teams advancing from the Africa Division 2 Qualifier to the next stage of the qualification pathway.”

Sports247 gathered further that Nigeria’s clash with Rwanda on Wednesday, August 12th at Gahanga Main Oval is expected to be one of the competition’s toughest games, with both sides eager to strengthen their qualification hopes.