Solomon Bob

Solomon Bob (born 1970) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician from People's Democratic Party. He represents Abua/Odual and Ahoada East Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives of Nigeria, a post he was elected to in 2019. He is a former Special Adviser to Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. Quotes I think it is wrong. It is wrong because political parties should have the latitude to decide what mode of primary to adopt. I do not think that it is our business to impose the mode of primary on the political parties. What has happened is an attempt to railroad everyone through a path designed by certain persons for motives that are not entirely convincing. The House, to which I belong, feels a bit uncomfortable with the decision to impose – that is what it is; it is an imposition – a direct mode of primary on the parties. As a matter of fact, being a member of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s technical committee – the committee that worked on the Electoral Bill we just passed, that was not what we recommended. Bob interview response to the question ' How do you feel about the restriction of political parties to direct primary in the amendments to the Electoral Act recently passed by the National Assembly? We recommended direct and indirect, leaving the parties to choose the option that suits them. If Party A decides that it wants direct, Party B may decide on indirect. We recommended both systems. That was what we brought to the floor of the House. But somehow, there were some untoward redirection by forces that serve interests that do not reflect the wishes of the people. Bob interview response to the question 'What did you recommend?? Yes, he did and that was really surprising because we do not know, as we didn’t then, understand where he was coming from. For us, what has happened is not a reflection of the wishes of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives. People are kicking and it won’t do any good. Bob interview response to the question 'The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, actually called for amendment of the clause to remove indirect primary. It is going to impose a lot of burden of logistics on INEC, the parties and the candidates. The cost of electioneering and logistics for participation will quintuple; it will go up by as much as sextuple – about five to six times, maybe 10 times. This amendment to make everyone to run the direct primary…down the throat of everyone is an injurious one. Bob interview response to the question 'What are the basic reasons for your reservations about direct primary?' (There is) nothing of such. I do not think so. It is not a convincing argument. How will it check godfatherism? People are saying that ‘oh, you envy the governors.’ The governors still have the cash, for instance. If election is all about who has more cash and who can mobilise, who can mobilise more than the governors? He has all the cash; he has more foot soldiers than anyone. All the structures in a state are basically in his hands. So, I do not think that it will serve any purpose other than to heap a lot of logistical, organisational and financial difficulties on the political parties, the candidates and INEC. INEC is not comfortable with it just the way every major stakeholder is not comfortable. The governors are kicking across politician party lines. So, this is not a PDP or APC thing. Bob interview response to the question 'Proponents of direct primary have argued that it will allow popular votes, check godfatherism and allow more participation in politics.' A lot of us tried. We did not want it. Many of us tried. As I said, it was railroaded through some means. I don’t want to use some very strong words because they are my colleagues and I have to respect them. What happened on the floor did not reflect the wishes of the people or members of the House. Bob interview response to the question 'Were those opposed to direct primary on the floor when the bill was being amended?' External links Category:Politicians from Nigeria Category:1970 births Category:Living people