Edo gov primary: APC NWC wades in, voids screening of aspirants

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THE All Progressives Congress National Working Committee has said its Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for aspirants seeking to pick its ticket ahead of September Governorship election in Edo state is open to all contenders.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Barrister Felix Morka made the clarification at the weekend in a statement.

Sunday Tribune checks revealed that the pronouncement by the national secretariat of the party was to preempt move by a former national chairman of the party and Senator representing Edo North, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to prune the number of aspirants to seek for the party ticket to six.

A party source revealed to Sunday Tribune that certain aspirants not in the good book of the former Edo State governor were already smarting for a showdown with Oshiomhole in the event that the Abdullahi Umar Ganduje led NWC allowed him to shut out some aspirants under the guise of seeking for a formidable candidate.

The APC primary is fixed for February 3.

Morka maintained in his statement that ” all interested aspirants are to make prescribed payments into the Party’s approved bank accounts, and collect their Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms from the Party’s National Secretariat. ”

The statement reads in part:” The All Progressives Congress (APC) wishes to clarify that the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for the Edo State Governorship Election is open, available for purchase and collection to ALL interested Party Aspirants.

“Screening and clearance of aspirants will be undertaken by a committee to be constituted by the National Working Committee (NWC) in accordance with the Party’s Constitution. Ruling

“As stipulated in the released APC Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Edo State gubernatorial election, all interested aspirants are to make prescribed payments into the party’s approved bank accounts, and collect their Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms from the party’s national secretariat. ”

Meanwhile, a group under the aegis of Concerned Edo All Progressives Congress (APC) Stakeholders has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the party’s National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, to as a matter of urgency call Senator Oshiomhole to order over his alleged plot to scheme out some aspirants from the Edo State Governorship contest.

The group, which stated their position in a press release made available to journalists in Benin, alleged that if Oshiomhole is not restraint by the leadership of the party, the APC would be plunged into what they described as unnecessary crisis before the September 21, 2024 Edo guber poll.

According to the group, Oshiomhole does not have the authority to constitute a screening committee as he is neither the national chairman of APC nor a member of the NWC, noting that only aspirants, who have completed and submitted their forms, can be screened by the committee established by the NWC.

The group said: “The Concerned Edo APC Stakeholders would like to clarify and correct the false alarm and wrong impressions being peddled by enemies of the APC in Edo State regarding the rumoured report of a committee set up to interact with Edo 2024 APC governorship aspirants.

“In line with the NWC’s guidelines, a consultative meeting was held with stakeholders of the party from Edo State on Monday, January 15, 2024.

“During the meeting, the stakeholders were urged to unite in trimming the number of aspirants due to the large number of individuals vying for the party’s ticket in Edo State.

“The APC state leader, Comrade Senator Adams Oshiomhole, set up a six-man committee to interface with the aspirants and make recommendations on how the number could be reduced.

“The committee was not a screening committee as that is the prerogative of the APC National Working Committee.

“Edo people were shocked when the news broke out that this Oshiomhole committee had initially recommended ten names among the aspirants and on meeting with Comrade Oshiomhole was told to further remove some names and make the total six,” the group stated.

Continuing, the group said, “We would like to state for the records that Comrade Oshiomhole does not have the authority to constitute a screening committee as he is neither the national chairman of the APC nor a member of the NWC.”

“Furthermore, only aspirants, who have completed and submitted their forms, can be screened by the committee established by the NWC for this purpose.

“The scheduled date for the screening of aspirants, as outlined in the approved timetable by the NWC, is between 8th and 9th February 2024.

The Oshiomhole committee unlawfully assumed the functions of the NWC and was unfortunately coerced by Comrade Oshiomhole to submit a report in variance of their earlier recommendation which is in the public domain.

“We hereby call on the national chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and other well-meaning party leaders in Edo State and across Nigeria, to intervene and restrain Senator Oshiomhole and his co-travelers. The APC in Edo State should not be plunged into unnecessary crisis ahead of the 2024 governorship election.”

The group added that: “It is worth noting that Senator Oshiomhole’s previous usurpation of nomination powers, as witnessed in the nomination of Godwin Obaseki and Philip Shuaibu as governor and deputy governor respectively in 2016, resulted in the party’s opposition status in Edo State today. It is evident that he intends to repeat this indelible error in 2024.”

“It is common knowledge that Senator Oshiomhole has a personal interest in who becomes the Edo State governor. We, therefore, reject Senator Oshiomhole’s undue influence and demand that he stays clear of the Edo 2024 APC governorship primaries.

“The Concerned APC Stakeholders remain committed to the principles of fairness, equity, and justice in the party and sincerely hope that this matter can be resolved amicably for the betterment of the APC and the people of Edo State,” the group concluded.

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