This is a very informational guide about the upcoming Nigerian election. You would learn how to become party delegates for labour party, apc, adc, apga and pdp. This is an avenue for you to make a lot of money while also serving your country.
2023 is less than 7 months away, it is more interesting for Nigeria because it is a year for another democratic event in the country- the election year.
Nigeria has been having periodic elections since 19999 and consecutively every four years. 2023 is another year. As expected, the whole stage of the election started with expressing interest in various political offices through political parties. Where there are many aspirants for a political office, conducting a party primary election is the way to choose an aspirant to contest in the general election.
The new electoral act established three ways of conducting party primaries, it can either be through consensus, or direct or indirect primaries. In the recent week, the two major political parties in Nigeria, the APC, and PDP have adopted the use of indirect primary to choose their presidential aspirant. This poses many unanswered questions in the mind of curious Nigerians; who is a delegate? Who can qualify to be a delegate? Is it an appointment or an elective office? These and many other questions will be answered. Read to the end to get a precise answer.
Delegates are a set of party men and women qualified to vote in electing an aspirant in the political party primaries. This is only obtainable in indirect primaries. Direct primary allows every member of a political party to participate in the election process in choosing the person an aspirant that will be their party’s flagbearer in the general election. But with the recent 2022 electoral act, it is clear that the mechanics of direct primary are such that a poorly organized political party cannot manage it at this point in the evolution of electoral democracy without quick improvement in its administrative efficiency. Hence, the reason most parties resort to consensus and indirect primaries and the ruling APC isn’t an exemption nor the main opposition party, PDP, especially for the presidential primary election.
How Delegates are chosen For Primary Election
Being a delegate starts from what is called “ward congress”. It is the ward that elects delegates. A ward is the smallest political unit of a political party. It is a division of local government into different political segments. Some of the card-carrying members of the party would be elected to represent each local government as delegates at the local, state, and national conventions or congresses. Though the process can be easily influenced by the “party elders” who ordinarily nominate their delegates to avoid causing factions in the party. More so, if it is a ruling party in the state, Governor can influence the process and chooses his desired persons as the party delegates. These delegates are allowed to vote in the party’s primary for the governorship and presidential election.
Delegates are divided into two units; ad-hoc delegates elected from each local government throughout the 774 local governments in the country and six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. There is also Statutory delegates, which contains some key executives in both federal and states government to be part of delegates in the selection process. Others are currently serving public office holders, ward councilors, local government chairmen and their vices, and political party chairmen in all the 774 LGAs.
In most instances, the National Executive Committees (NECs), the highest organ of political parties, determine the mode of the congress to choose the delegates. By section 84(8) of the electoral act, they must conduct roll out the mode in accordance with the party’s constitution. The party’s NEC also determines the number of delegates that come from each local government.
The new 2022 electoral bill has hampered statutory delegates from voting and even contesting for any offices in the forthcoming elections. This is why President Buhari and state Governors ask their appointees with political ambitions to resign. Section 84(12) states thus:
“No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election”.
The ruling APC party select three ad-hoc delegates from each of the 774 local governments in the country and one from each area council in the FCT. This sum to a total of 2,340 delegates to be eligible voters for the party’s presidential primary.
The main opposition party however has 811 delegates throughout the country.
The number of delegates for choosing governorship aspirants defers, it is usually based on the guidelines set up for that process. What each party must ensure is that delegates must come from all local governments.
Becoming a Party Delegate
- Join a political party in Nigeria
- Register with the party by purchasing a registration form
- Submit the required documents
- Pay your registration fee at the Party’s Ward secretariat
- Collect your Party membership card
- Develop popularity in your Ward
- Build grassroots support from members at your Ward
- Indicate interest to be a delegate at the ward congress
- Win the election to be a delegate from your Ward
How To Become APC Party delegate
- Head over to the official Apc website to register as a member or you visit any of their offices all Over Nigeria to pickup an APC membership form.
- After obtaining the form, fill out the necessary details and submit to the office.
- Wait for the officials to confirm and validate your membership status. They can either approve your application or reject it. If your application is approved, move to the next step.
- Attend all their meetings regularly and connsistently.
- Then you can now apply to be a delegate to represent your constituency.