All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Bola Tinubu and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo are among the presidential aspirants cleared by the Chief John Odigie Oyegun-led Screening Committee, 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE learnt.
The Oyegun-led committee while submitting its report to the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led leadership of the party earlier, said 10 out of the 23 aspirants in the race for the party’s ticket were disqualified.
He said, “First, we have 23 aspirants that we interacted with and my first comment is that we are indeed a lucky party. The point I want to make is the quality of the people that want to govern this country.
“We are a governing party and so the ability to lead, the background, experience… it is on the basis that we made a shortlist. I won’t want to read the names, I’d leave that to you, but we brought the number down to 13.
“We could have cut it a little shorter but we wanted the younger elements to surface
Oyegun failed to disclose the identity if those affected neither did he named those who survived the screening.
However, his reference that “we wanted the younger elements to surface” had triggered speculation that the committee may have screened out older aspirants like Tinubu and Osinbajo on account of age.
In a social media post, a Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University, Farooq Kperogi, said Oyegun’s remarks was indicative that Tinubu and Osinbajo have been disqualified.
He posted, “John Oyegun, who chaired APC’s screening committee, told newsmen a while ago that only 13 “youthful aspirants” were cleared to run for the party’s primaries.
“I can bet my bottom dollar that Bola Tinubu has been disqualified. 70 years isn’t, by any system of measurement, “youthful.”
“At 65, which is just five years younger than Tinubu, Yemi Osinbajo isn’t “youthful,” either.
However, sources within the party’s top hierarchy told this paper in confidence that contrary to the speculation, the former governor of Lagos State and Osinbajo actually survived the screening.
Others who were cleared to contest the party’s primary include Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio among others
The source said there was no disqualiication, noting that the 10 aspirnts said to be disqualified did not actually turn up during the screening.
Tinubu’s disqualification suicidal
Another party source said antagonising Tinubu through disqualification at this point will be a suicidal path the party will not brook at such a delicate hour.
“The party knows it will be suicidal to screen out Tinubu knowing the kind of influence he commands not only in the South-West but even in the North.
“It amounts to the party leaving its flanks open for the opposition to catch in especially with Atiku Abubakar as their candidate,” he averred.
He said the risk is not worth taking especially with many governors sympathetic to the APC leader.
“It means the party losing Lagos, which has the second largest voting population; Osun, Ondo and sympathy votes across other South-West states.
He also said with Abdullahi Ganduje as key Tinubu ally, Kano’s vote would be splited down the middle. Likewise states like Borno, where Governor Babagana Zulum and former governor Kashim Shettima as allies.
APC Governors meet Buhari
Progressives Governors Forum members will meet President Buhari to night to consider the Oyegun-led report, our reporter learnt.
Buhari earlier returned to Abuja from Spain where he went on state visit.
Our reporter learnt that the president alongside APC governors and party leaders will critically scrutinise the report in order to avert possible flaws that could undermine the progress ahead of the 2023 elections during the meeting.
