The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday had a rethink by clearing Mr. Babatunde Irukera to contest the party’s Kogi governorship primary which holds in Lokoja today.
It brings to 10 the number of contestants cleared piecemeal to vie for the party’s governorship ticket in the primary.
It would be recalled that the APC seven-member screening committee headed by the party’s candidate in the 2019 governorship election in Imo State, Mr. Hope Uzodinma had, on Monday August 26 cleared the sitting governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, Hassan Abdullahi, Ekele Blessing, and Abubakar Bashir to contest in the primary.
But yesterday, the party cleared another five including Hadiza Ibrahim, Yahaya Audu, Sani Abdullahi, Danlami Mohammed, and Yakubu Mohammed to contest.
Irukera’s supporters protested at the headquarters in Abuja against the disqualification of their candidate.
However, later in the evening, spokesman for the party Mr. Lanre Issa-Onilu, said in a statement that the NWC had cleared Irukera for the contest.
He said the aspirant successfully met the conditions provided by the Party’s guidelines for the nomination of candidates within the time granted to clarify his claims.
Now, aspirants for the primary that will produce a candidate for the November 16, 2019 governorship poll in the state are Yahaya Bello, Hadiza Iyoma Ibrahim, Ekele Aishat Ibrahim, Messrs Yahaya Odidi Audu, Sani Lulu Abdullahi, Mr. Abubakar Bashir, Danlami Umar Mohammed, Yakubu Mohammed, Hassan Abdullahi and Babatunde Irukera.
