APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
By Our Reporter
The Concerned Leaders and Members of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have drawn the attention of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, all APC members and the public to a clandestine meeting of all the Chairmen and Secretaries of the Edo State chapter of the APC), billed to take place today, Tuesday 22nd January, 2024 in Abuja.
The group said the meeting was summoned by a serving Senator and former governor of the State to unduly force the party leaders into accepting the governorship aspiration of Hon Dennis Idahosa (a.k a. Denco), over and above other more competent aspirants of party, in the scheduled February 17 2024 party primary election.
The group said that it was expedient to stop some leaders and executives of the party from manipulating the process and foisting on the party a particular gubernatorial candidate.
The group warned that foisting a candidate on the party could discount the chances of the party winning the September 21, 2024 governorship election.
The statement, which was signed by Dr. Osemwegie Irobun, Co-ordinator of the group and Comrade (Mrs) Victoria Etokhana, its Gender Mobilizer, thereby called on the party’s NWC, Dr. Ganduje and President Tinubu, to call the Senator and former governor to order, and dissuade him from imposing Hon Idahosa, as they had all resolved to resist the plot.
According to the group, the imposition of Idahosa by the Senator could spell doom for the APC in the state.
While it called on the serving Senator to perish the thought of imposing Idahosa on them, for pecuniary and selfish considerations, the statement further cautioned the Senator and that they were no longer going to condone his anti-party and divisive activities, “since he as a leader of the party in the state, is the one to derive strength from their collective and not he as an authocratic leader.”
The group recalled how the Senator once imposed the incumbent governor of the state and his Deputy, which caused anarchy and made the party to lose the state to the opposition party.
It expressed concerns that the party leader was, in the same way, bent on imposing Hon Idahosa on the party as governorship candidate, a development which would make the APC to lose the September 21, 2025 governorship election.