APC Primaries: Oroh calls for electoral Reforms to restore public confidence

A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Abdul Oroh, has called for a holistic reform of Nigeria’s electoral process, insisting that only the people should nominate and elect those who represent them at all levels of government, rather than political executives.

DAILY POST reports that the former human rights activist and journalist made the call on Saturday, May 16, 2026, ahead of the nationwide All Progressives Congress, APC, House of Representatives primaries.

Oroh, who contested the APC primary for the Owan Federal Constituency seat, said the challenges associated with election management, particularly intra-party primaries, are not peculiar to the APC alone.

He noted that the issue remains one of the major challenges confronting political leadership and electoral processes in the country.

According to him, “I am a scholar on election issues. I know how elections are won and lost in Nigeria, as well as the factors that make it possible for someone to win or lose an election.

“I also know the problems with election management in Nigeria, especially as it affects intra-party elections, which are the primary elections.

“It is one of those issues that we need to address in the process of leadership elections, either by reviewing the legal framework or finding better ways to conduct the process. What we are seeing now is not peculiar to the APC,” he said.

Oroh alleged that aspirants are often pressured to commit huge financial resources, compromise their principles, or engage in practices they ordinarily would not consider if the electoral process were free, fair, and transparent.

“There are also enormous pressures from the executives. How can the executive determine who becomes a legislator? It is the people who should choose those who will oversee the executive, but in Nigeria, it is the other way round.

“These realities have complicated the process and made it difficult to have an electoral system that satisfies the majority of the people. We still need to reform the process,” he added.

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