Screening: APC threatens aspirants with criminal records

AS parties prepare for their primaries, the screening committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has threatened to abandon aspirants with criminal records who may fail to disclose it to the party. 

The party warned that it would not come to the aid of any aspirant with cases of misconduct, including fraud and conviction, who does not use the opportunity provided by the screening exercise to divulge it before the panel. 

This was one of the issues raised on Sunday by the committee when aspirants for the National Assembly appeared for the exercise, some aspirants told Nigerian Tribune. 

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Other questions posed to the aspirants covered evidence of disengagement from their place of work, payment of N7,600 annual dues and clearance in case of conviction. 

The committee, however, gave a window of opportunity for some aspirants who had issues with payment of annual dues and their credentials. 

While those that defaulted on the dues were advised to rectify the problem in an office within the screening centre, those that complained that they forgot to come along with parts of their credentials were asked to bring them before the committee concluded its sitting on Sunday. 

Each aspirant was also asked to state what he knew on the contents of the manifesto of the ruling party during the screening. 

Besides, though a few of the aspirants filled the controversial form that required them to consent to withdraw from the race if need be, many left it blank since the court said such document was invalid and illegal. 

An aspirant confirmed that at least 90 party faithful spread across the constituency of an aspirants signed the nomination and expression of interest forms of each of the aspirants for the House of Representatives. 

There were nine panels, with each panel comprising a group of states ranging from three to five for the purpose of the screening exercise. 

According to some of the aspirants, who spoke to Nigerian Tribune, each aspirant was asked to provide a duly signed copy of his letter of disengagement from his place of work and where he claimed to have a higher academic certificate but had never worked, he was asked to provide his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate and tax clearance.