All Progressives Congress (APC) screening committee has disqualified Governor Godwin Obaseki from participating in the Edo governorship primary slated for June 22.
Chairman of the screening committee, Jonathan Ayuba, said this while presenting his report to Adams Oshiomhole, APC national chairman, at the national secretariat in Abuja on Friday.
Obaseki and five other aspirants were screened by the committee earlier this week to validate their credentials and grant them clearance to vie for the party’s ticket to contest in the September 19 governorship election.
According to the report presented by Professor Ayuba-led seven-member committee to the party’s National Working Committee on Friday, Obaseki and two other candidates did not qualify to participate in the primary.
Obaseki‘s disqualification is due to the committee’s judgement that the governor’s school leaving certificate and NYSC certificate are defective.
This comes two days after the Management of the University of Ibadan confirmed that Godwin Obaseki, graduated from the institution amid controversy over the first-degree certificate of the Governor.
Read Also: Edo 2020: University Of Ibadan Confirms Obaseki’s Certificate
National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole had questioned the authenticity of the certificate.
There has also been drama about mode to be used for governorship primary between the camp of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and that of Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who have both been at loggerheads for months.
While the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC under the leadership of Oshiomhole proposed direct mode, Obaseki and his supporters have vehemently faulted it, insisting that indirect mode be used.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) however approved the direct primary mode for APC primary for the Edo State governorship election.
In a direct primary election, registered members of the party just vote for who they want to be the flag-bearer of their party, while in an indirect primary election, party members elect delegates who in turn elect the party’s candidates on their behalf.
