APC Exonerates Oshiomhole As Plot To Drop Ize-Iyamu, Others From Edo Primary Deepens

The chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Edo State, Mr Jarett Tenebe has exonerated the state leader of the party, Senator Adams Oshiomhole from the alleged move to exclude Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and General Charles Airhiavbere from the six man list of aspirants to contest the primary.

Tenebe in a statement made available to GWG.ng deposed that Oshiomhole had no role in the alleged plot even as he dismissed the report published by GWG.ng as false.

His assertions nonetheless, GWG.ng reports that the meeting scheduled to hold on Thursday night was aborted following the leak of the report of the Gubernatorial Screening Committee that had initially recommended 10 aspirants to contest the election.

The meeting of the committee it was reliably gathered has now been shifted to Friday by 3.00 pm with those behind the move to prune the aspirants to six determined to continue with the plan.

GWG.ng reports that the committee had recommended that 10 aspirants should go for the primaries with four of the aspirants drawn from Edo South and three aspirants apiece coming from Edo Central and Edo North.

The four aspirants listed from Edo South included Lucky Imasuen, Pastor Ize-Iyamu, Mr Dennis Idahosa and General Charles Airhiavbere.

The three recommended from Edo North in no particular order were erstwhile minister of National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, Prince Kassim Afegbua and Dr Ernest Umakhihe, who recently retired as a permanent secretary in the Federal Civil Service.

From Edo Central, the three recommended were Festus Ebea, former APC state chairman, Dave Imuse and Senator Monday Okpebholo.

In a shock to many, Senator Oserheinmen Osunbor, the penultimate governor of the state was not listed among the three from Edo Central.                           

It was, however, gathered that an influential leader of the party in the state among others had put pressure on the committee to further prune down the list to six with two aspirants coming from each of the three senatorial districts.

In a move that has amazed some members of the committee and other party stakeholders, it was gathered that the committee is under pressure to exclude Pastor Ize-Iyamu who was the party’s governorship candidate in the 2020 election and Airhiavbere.

The basis of the move was on Thursday night being questioned by some party figures. A senior party leader querying the move told GWG.ng:

“How can you say that Ize-Iyamu was good enough four years ago and today he is not strong enough,” a party leader conversant with the development told GWG.ng

Besides, the decision to pick Idahosa and Imasuen from the same Old Ovia axis and leave other parts of Edo South was also raising a debate among party elders.

The same question was also being raised on the decision to pick Senator Okpebholo and Imuse who are from the same Old Okpeho axis of Edo Central.

GWG.ng reports that the old Agbazillo axis of Edo Central is yet to produce a governor for the state.

The leak of the report of the committee that had initially recommended ten aspirants and the further plot to streamline the aspirants to six has put party leaders and major stakeholders in a quandary as they fear that the intrigues could dim the party’s prospect in the main election.

“You know, this was how Obaseki was driven out of the APC in 2020 and he became popular, but it is a pity as if our leader has not learnt his lesson,” the high party source said even as the APC earlier exonerated Oshiomhole from the alleged intrigues.

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