…Says, it’s against party’s non-zoning principle
The Concerned All Progressives Congress (APC) members, a group of the Edo State chapter of the APC, has declared the purported report of the Professor Julius Ihonvbere-led Screening/Pruning Committee that has allegedly excluded Edo North Senatorial zone from the contest for the All Party’s governorship ticket of the state, as retrogressive, undemocratic and patently against the non-zoning principle of the party.
This and other assertions were made in a press statement by the group, which members cut across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The statement which was signed by Dr. Osemwegie Irobun and Mr. Isigo Eromosele, its Coordinator and Secretary, respectively, stressed that the so-called list of four aspirants with only Edo South and Edo Central zones with their two aspirants apiece in it, if it was the product of the Committee, trumped equity and vitiated the basis of equality of zones in the quest to seamlessly aid the Governorship nomination process of the party.
The group specifically noted that the unofficial list, which had been clandestinely released into and doing the rounds in the social media space, was creating a negative impression.
The group further said; “As the rumour around the unofficial list in the social media report on the said exclusion of the two officially screened aspirants from the Northern district was circulated, a series of rebuttals had come from one of the two aspirants, APC stakeholders, political observers and members of the public, who regarded it as fake, tendentious, divisive and intended to throw the Edo APC into confusion.
The group noted that it was apparent that some stakeholders in the party were not satisfied with the peace in the party, and decided to take it through the now familiar ignoble pathway, which made the party to lose the state to the opposition party in the 2020 governorship election.
It added; “With the official declaration that two aspirants of the district were already cleared to vie in the party primary election, preparatory to the general election, the outcome was largely considered to be fair-featuring two aspirants each per the three senatorial zones”.
The group also regretted that APC leaders and members from Edo North were shocked by the unofficial list that excluded the zone and therefore, demand to know the basis of the exclusion.
The APC pressure group said that while the news of the false disqualification was still being treated with incredulity, it was also irritating and unacceptable that it was made a subject matter of a television network discussion programme, which
amounted to a tacit endorsement of the unofficial disqualification of Edo North zone from a process that was open to all the zones to participate in.
It noted that by reading out only the names of the other four aspirants from South and Central, thus excluding the two from the Edo North zone, it had given the leeway to mischief makers and succeeded in taking their mischief a notch up, stressing that the development would not augur well for unity and fairness in the party.
The group thereby posed a question; “For the sanctification of democratic norms and the firm positioning of the APC National Working Committee and its state’s chapter, would it not amount to double standards for an entire North senatorial district, which gave APC the mandatory presidential winning, and the highest votes in the 2020 Governorship poll to be excluded from an important governorship election, where its two aspirants are the most qualified?
“Now that the two aspirants and the district are being frustrated from the race, what happens to the APC’s standing principle that it is free contest for all the aspirants and that zoning of the governorship slot, along senatorial districts be jettisoned, when Edo North district, which is the stronghold of the APC and its most qualified aspirants are kicked out from the contest?” the group queried.
The group declared that as concerned stakeholders of the party, it deemed it necessary to call on all APC faithful, defenders of democracy and good governance, to take the false disqualification for what it is: fake.
It also said; “Let us remain calm and optimistic that the APC, being a progressive party of disciplined leaders and members, would review its “decision” and not progress in error by finding amicable ways out of the logjam being orchestrated by few desperate and undemocratic party men, who are being driven by selfish and pecuniary interests”.
