Iyiola Omisore, former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has rejected reports that he was barred from taking part in the party’s Osun governorship primary.
Gatekeepers News reports that APC screening committee had on Friday disqualified Omisore and six other aspirants from the December 13 primary.
The committee, led by Obinna Uzoh, finished its work on Thursday and forwarded its findings to the APC National Working Committee in Abuja the next day.
According to the panel, the seven aspirants did not show evidence that they were sponsored by at least five fully registered and financially updated party members from each local government, as required by party rules.
The disqualified aspirants include Omisore, Babatunde Haketer Oralusi, Oyedotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Benedict Alabi, Adegoke Rasheed Okiki, and Babajide Omoworare. Only two; Mulikat Abiola Jimoh and Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji were cleared.
Speaking on Saturday after appearing before the APC screening appeal panel, Omisore said the chairman told them he had received a call instructing him to disqualify all of them.
He also claimed that the panel wrote more than one report, and that the one forwarded to the party secretariat was not the original.
Omisore said, “We’re in December, abi? That’s the jokest report of this year. It’s so unfortunate that people are taking partisanship beyond politics.”
He added that none of the affected aspirants had been given the report or informed officially why they were disqualified.
He said, “ We haven’t been written to. So, what are the bases of the disqualification? You said we didn’t have nominators, five per local government. But the law says, he who alleges must prove. They should have used another method to disqualify us.”
The former Deputy Governor argued that sidelining aspirants of their experience was a sign of deeper problems.
He said, “But you can know from our pedigree that the disqualification wasn’t the right word to use for us because we are germane in this thing. We are the veterans! You can see for yourself that where you have disqualified people like us in any contest, where do we go from there?”
Omisore said he hoped for fairness, adding that the NWC has the full list of financiers in the party.
He said, “And all of us aspirants are guilty of the same thing, the same system, the same way. That’s the issue, and it calls for caution.”
