Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has expressed his fears over the possible outcome of the seven-member screening committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) headed by Prof. Jonathan Ayuba.
Obaseki, who is seeking for re-election, showed up on the first day of the screening exercise, Wednesday at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja, the venue of the verification at about 1:10pm.
Shortly after the screening on Wednesday night, Obaseki said the screening committee is still being manipulated by the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole.
The governor alleged that some of the questions asked by the committee showed that Oshiomhole has not distanced himself from the process of conducting governorship primaries in the state.
“Like I said, as a party man I have gone through the screening process but I do not believe that I will get justice because Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is an interested party in the Edo process.
“One of the questions that was asked was why I issued a gazette that will prevent the party from performing direct primary elections in Edo.
“That did I not see it as an anti-party activity? I just felt that if we put politics above the lives of the people of Edo State, then we may be missing the point,” Obaseki said.
Obaseki recalled that when he came to the party’s National Secretariat to submit his nomination form, he told a news conference that Oshiomhole should distance himself from the process.
“I have given them all the information they need; the controversial certificate from the University of Ibadan has been tendered,” he said.
The party has slated June 22 for its direct mode of primary in the state while Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, has fixed September 19 for the Edo 2020 Governorship election.
Governor Obaseki and his predecessor in office, Adams Oshiomhole, who now leads the ruling APC, have been engaged in a protracted political battle which now threatens the party’s chances at the polls.