By Dirisu Yakubu

As Dogara panel disqualifies two, clears seven Ondo guber aspirants

The PDP National Working Committee, NWC, Friday, appointed Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike as Chairman of the Edo State governorship election national campaign council.

A tweet from the party’s verified Twitter Handle, @OfficialPDPNig, also announced the appointment of the Adamawa state governor, Ahmadu Fintiri as deputy chairman of the campaign council.

Breaking News!

The @OfficialPDPNig NWC has appointed the Governor of Rivers State, H. E. Chief @NyesomWlKE as the Chairman of Edo State Governorship Election National Campaign Council.

The deputy chairman is Adamawa State Governor, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Fintiri.

Details Later…. pic.twitter.com/PobQJQdRBn

— Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) July 3, 2020

The Edo governorship election holds on September 19 with Governor Godwin Obaseki of the PDP facing the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Meanwhile, the committee empanelled to screen nine governorship aspirants in the October 10 election, yesterday cleared seven aspirants for the primaries while two were disqualified.

ALSO READ: APC: Oyegun, Oshiomhole to campaign for Ize-Iyamu in Edo

Briefing newsmen at the end of the exercise, immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara said the committee did a thorough job given the significance of the test ahead.

He said: “We applied the tools that we have and the guidelines given to us. Unfortunately, I am not happy to report that two of our aspirants failed the litmus test.

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“We took time to painstakingly go through every claim made by the aspirants and the documents they submitted. The intention is that anybody who passes through the screening would have been satisfied with it, so much that there would be no need to challenge it.”

Pressed to reveal the identity of those that failed the exercise, Dogara was evasive, adding that anyone not satisfied with the outcome was free to go on appeal.

However, sources at the party headquarters said Otunba Bamidele Akingboye was disqualified by the panel as his name did not match with that on the certificates he tendered before the committee.

Aspirants screened for the July 22nd governorship primaries include Eyitayo Jegede, Sen. Boluwaji Kunlere, deputy governor of the state, Agboola Ajayiand Dr Eddy Olafeso.

Others were Ben Banji Okunomo, Bode Ayorinde, Otunba Bamidele Akingboye, Godday Erewa and  Sola Ebiseeni.

Vanguard