President Bola Tinubu has directed that the Edo State APC primary be open for all aspirants to contest.

Former Governor of Edo State and senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, stated this during an interview with journalists after meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa Abuja.

He said President Tinubu has also ruled out any zoning arrangement in the state.

“The National Secretariat of the party is on record of having issued a statement which was widely used to the effect that the APC governorship ticket was open to anyone eligible to procure the nomination form which was why at the end of the day, we had 12 candidates that procured the form,” Oshiomhole said.

“The key issue in my conversation with Mr President is that the primary that has been rescheduled for tomorrow to continue is not based on zoning. It should be based on free and fair primaries.

“I am not a product of zoning, I am not a believer in turn-by-turn democracy. I believe Nigeria will do better when it puts its best foot forward.”

Controversy had trailed the conduct of the primary which was held on February 17 as it produced three winners, with some aspirants calling for the cancellation of the exercise.

While the Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the primary, Governor Hope Uzodimma, had announced Dennis Idahosa as the winner, the returning officer, Stanley Ugboaja, declared Monday Okpebholo as the winner.

Also, Ojo Babatunde, who claimed to be representing the returning officers in all the local governments declared Anamero Dekeri as the winner of the election.

Following the confusion that ensued, both Dekeri and Okpebholo had written the appeal committee of the party to demand their certificates of return.

The situation forced the APC National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress to declare the poll inconclusive.

This followed an emergency meeting convened by the party’s National Working Committee meeting on Tuesday night to resolve the lingering crisis arising from the primary conducted by the Senator Hope Uzodimma-led committee, according to the APC spokesman, Felix Morka.

According to the ruling party, a new primary will be held on Thursday to determine its flagbearer for the September 2024 governorship election in the state.

Morka said, “At its emergency meeting held today, Tuesday, February 20, 2024, to consider the report on the Edo State Governorship Primary Election, the National Working Committee (NWC) deliberated on the report and resolved that the Edo State Governorship Primary Election has not been completed, and has now fixed Thursday, February 22, 2024, for the completion of the Primary Election Process.” (Channels TV)

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