APC Overrules Oshiomhole, Rejects Edo Screening Committee Report, Insists Aspirants Must Go For Primaries

By Ayodele Oni

The National Working Committee, (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has overruled Senator Adams Oshiomhole and his Edo State APC Caucus over the disqualification of some aspirants in the forthcoming Gubernatorial Primary.

A statement signed by Mr Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the Party, said the NWC voided the Ihonvbere-led screening of the aspirants as directed by the state caucus led by Adams Oshiomhole.

Following the emergence of many aspirants for the Governorship election, the Edo APC had constituted a Committee to reduce the number of aspirants to manageable size.

The pruning down of the Governorship aspirants led to an uproar, with some  expressing outrage over the elimination of some of the party’s  formidable aspirants.

The party, in a statement at the weekend said that its Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for the Election are available for purchase and collection to all interested aspirants.

Morka explained that screening and clearance of aspirants would be undertaken by a committee to be constituted by the party’s NWC, in accordance with its Constitution.

“As stipulated in the released APC timetable and schedule of activities for Edo gubernatorial election, all interested aspirants are to make prescribed payments into the party’s approved bank accounts.

“They are to collect their Expression of Interest and Nomination forms from the party’s National Secretariat.”

The Prof Julius Ihonvbere-led committee had pruned  down the aspirants to six from 29, a move that the APC NWC has now voided.