All Progressives Congress (APC’s) screening panel Friday disqualified the Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki.
Also, Messrs Matthew Aigbuhuenze Iduoriyekemwen and Chris Ogiemwonyi were disqualified from participating in the primaries to select the party’s flag-bearer for the governorship poll.
The Professor Ayuba Jonathan-led panel, however, cleared Messrs Osaro Obazee, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Dr. Pius Odubu.
The panel stated that the decision by both Obaseki and Iduoriyekemwen to drag the APC and its national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to court in defiance to the provision of the party’s constitution as basis for the decision.
The panel also capitalised on the inconsistency on the Higher School Leaving Certificate which is not to law submitted by Governor Obaseki.
While submitting the report Friday in Abuja, the chairman of the seven-man panel 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 six aspirants, three were eligible to contest and three 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 the committee, saying that it behooved on aspirants dissatisfied with the findings of the committee to take their case to the appeal committee instituted by the party.
Ogiemwonyi was overheard saying that he would surely appeal the decision of the screening committee.
Reacting to the development, the immediate past national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, described it as “a hatchet job.”
In a statement by his public affairs adviser, Ray Morphy, he 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 fair play and good conscience!”