Romanus Ugwu
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reassured party members and aspirants that it will conduct credible and transparent primaries to nominate candidates for the Edo and Ondo governorship primaries.
APC’s National Publicity Secretary Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday night urged members to continue to count on the national leadership to provide responsible leadership and act strictly by the rules at all times.
‘Our responsibility as the NWC is to provide level playing ground for every eligible aspirant to contest for the ticket. The party’s schedule of activities for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections have been released.
‘Our focus now is to ensure proper screening of aspirants, due diligence and conduct free, transparent and credible primaries to elect the Party’s candidates for both elections. Our members should continue to count on us to provide responsible leadership and act strictly by the rules at all times,’ the ruling party noted in the statement.
The ruling party also recanted on the endorsement of Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, insisting that the national chairman lacks the power to endorse any aspirants.
Oshiomhole had while speaking to reporters after the meeting with the APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday, noted that even though the electorate has become more sophisticated, Governor Akeredeolu had done well in Ondo that the party does not entertain any fear about him.
‘You know that Governors are assets to our party and once a candidate emerged we all work and ensure that we do our best to persuade the people in the respective States to favour us with their votes.
‘I am sure that by the special grace of God, the Ondo Governor is here, he did well and electorate are more sophisticated now so we have no fear about that,’ he noted.
However, recanting on Oshiomhole’s earlier endorsement, the party spokesperson noted: ‘Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to a group “Unity Mandate Agenda” alleging that Governor Akeredolu has been “endorsed” for a second term by the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the party’s (NWC). This is indeed a grievous falsehood intended to create disaffection among our members.
‘We hereby refute this spurious statement and wish to state unequivocally that neither the National Chairman nor any member of the party’s NWC has the power to endorse any aspirant.
‘The APC is not in the business of endorsing aspirants. As a progressive party, our ultimate guiding principle is strict adherence to the tenets of participatory democracy. Our members in Ondo State and elsewhere should ignore this unfounded report.
‘As we move close to governorship primaries in both Edo and Ondo States, it should be expected that mischief-makers would do their worst to impugn on the process. As always, they would fail in this current campaign,’ the APC noted in the statement.