All Progressives Congress (APC) screening committee for Ekiti governorship election has cleared Governor Biodun Oyebanji and Atinuke Oluremi Omolayo to contest in the party primary.
Gatekeepers News reports that Tunji Olawuyi, along with six other members, chaired the screening, which was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday in Abuja. In its report, the committee confirmed that four aspirants submitted nomination and expression of interest forms.
According to the panel, Oyebanji and Omolayo were cleared, having satisfied all constitutional and party requirements. However, Kayode Ojo was given provisional clearance, with the final decision referred to the National Working Committee (NWC).
The committee said, “This referral is necessitated by the weight of the petitions against him, particularly his failure to satisfy the mandatory threshold of five valid nominators per local government, and is intended to forestall potential litigation(s) that may arise from this deficiency which is inconsistent with Article 9(1) of the APC Constitution, which provides that only registered and financially up-to-date members of the Party have the right to vote and be voted for, and paragraph 6(c) the Guidelines for Nomination of Candidates.”
Ahead of the exercise, some party members in Ekiti had petitioned the screening committee, urging it to disqualify Ojo over his alleged inability to secure the required number of nominators.
The panel also disqualified Abimbola Olajumoke Olawumi, stating it was on grounds of lack of evidence that she is a financially up-to-date member in compliance with Article 9(1) of the APC Constitution.
