Just like the experience of late business mogul, Moshood Abiola, on June 12, 1993, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has annulled the incubent governor of Edo state Godwinn Obaseki’s bid for re-election by the screening panel of his party.
Also disqualified were Messrs Matthew Aigbuhuenze Iduoriyekemwen and Chris Ogiemwonyi from participating in the primaries aimed at selecting the standard bearer of the party for the governorship poll.
The professor Ayuba Jonathan-led panel, however, cleared Messrs Osaro Obazee, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Dr. Pius Odubu to vie in the primaries election.
Ayuba led panel adduce the decision by both Obaseki and Iduoriyekemwen to drag the APC and the national chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to court in defiance to the provision of the APC constitution as basis for the decision.
The panel also capitalised on the inconsistensy on the Higher School Leaing Certificate whichi is not to law submitted by governor Obaseki.
The panel further justified the decision to disqualify Ogiemwonyi on the basis that there were inconsistency in the names on the documents presented to the screening committee.
While submitting the report Friday in Abuja, chairman of the seven man panel, Prof. Jonathan Ayuba, said: “We are staking our integrity. The integrity of the process in this country in order to arrive at what we have done. Mr Chairman, our report is conclusive. Every member signed and has agreed with what we have decided at the committee level. This is essential because we want to be judged by what we have done and what we are presenting.
“We were thorough in the manner in which we conducted the exercise. We recorded live the interaction with each of the aspirants. The unedited clip is what we are giving as part of our report. We want to be judged by what we have done and not by what a third party says or by rumour.
“The methodology we used is clear. It was evidence-based. All we did was an interaction.
“We screened 6 aspirants, 3 were eligible to contest and 3 were deemed ineligible to participate. The first candidate was Mr Osaro Obaze. The committee after screening and the verification of the candidate’s documents, found him eligible to contest the primary. Based on the committee observation above, the candidate is cleared.”
Oshiomhole who received the report expressed gratitude to members of the committee adding that it behoves on aspirants disatisfied with the findings of the committee to take their case to the appeal committee instituted by the party.
Oshiomhole argued that the decision to screen the aspirants was in tandem with the resolve of the party to deepen the tenets of democracy in the country.
Ogiemwonyi who was sighted at the national secretariat of the party phisibly angry, was overheard saying that he would surely appeal the decision of the screening committee.
The development is coming against the backdrop of fears expressed by Obaseki that he will not be fairly treated by the committee with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole at the helm of the party affiars.
Reacting to the development, the immidiate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief John Oyegun, has reacted to the disqualification of governor Obaseki by the APC screening panel, discribing it as “an hatchet job.”
In a statement signed by Oyegun’s Public Affairs Adviser, Ray Morphy, the former Edo state governor said: “The disqualification of Obaseki by the APC Screening Panel is a hatchet job aimed at installing a stooge that will allow some people unfettered access to Edo Treasury.
“While not a surprise, that disqualification is clear indication that internal democracy has been murdered in APC, a party which we founded on the principles of fairplay and good conscience!
“I daresay that APC will suffer dire consequences in Edo state if this disqualification is not speedily reversed.
“As a matter of fact, Oshiomole is indeed the one who is guilty of anti party, not Obaseki. Oshiomole is the one who is acting unconstitutionally not Obaseki. I hope that Oshiomole will not go down in history as the undertaker of APC.”
Edo: Like Abiola, APC annulls Obaseki’s re-election bid on June 12
