News
We will no longer field candidates with questionable certificates —Oshiomhole
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday inaugurated the Governorship Screening Committee for APC aspirants for the August 29 Kogi and Bayelsa states primary elections.
Senator Hope Uzodinma is to head the Kogi State screening committee while Senator Abdullahi Gumel is heading that of Bayelsa State.
According to Oshiomole, the party had become wiser from court judgements which disqualified its candidates for ineligibility in the past.
He said the party would guide against fielding candidates with questionable dates of birth, educational qualifications and various errors which the opposition party could latch on to snatch victory after losing at the polls.
READ ALSO: APC charges newly inaugurated ministers to save Nigeria
Oshiomole cited the case of Taraba State where the Supreme Court disqualified its governorship candidate after participating in all stages of the election.
He said: “Many put it that screening is a formality but because of our own peculiarity, people are sometimes economical with the truth. We need to do proper screening and ensure that those who pass the screening are likely to be able to stand not only winning election but of not being challenged after.
“We have a couple of cases where people claimed what they didn’t have or they swore to that affidavit such that they have two, three ages depending on what purpose they are swearing affidavit for.
“We have a recent case in Taraba where our governorship candidate who went through the entire election process, his candidature was nullified by the Supreme Court on account of falsification of age. So, if we thought before that screening is a formality, we have seen that we are not meticulous.”
Oshiomhole urged the committees to observe contradictions in aspirants’ claims and examine issues raised against them without sentiment or partiality.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...