The All Progressives Congress (APC) has adopted the direct mode of primary election to nominate its candidate for the September 21 gubernatorial election in Edo State.

According to the timetable and schedule of activities released earlier by the party, the primary election to nominate the party’s flagbearer for the election, is scheduled for February 17, with the sale of forms running from January 10 to January 29.

Briefing newsmen on Tuesday at the party’s National Secretariat on the outcome of a National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with Edo stakeholders held on Monday night in Abuja, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Duro Meseko, said the NWC, has directed stakeholders to consult with the 29 aspirants vying for the party’s ticket to reduce the number, ensuring unity for the main election.

While about 29 aspirants under the APC have signalled interest, only one contender has obtained the nomination forms.

 Meseko, who said the party prioritises victory over the revenue from  sales of nomination forms, noted that dealing with 29 or more aspirants in a direct election would pose logistical challenges.  

To avoid litigations by dissatisfied aspirants after the primary election, the party resolved that another form be attached to the nomination forms in which contenders will sign an undertaking not to challenge the outcome of primary in the court.

“After due consultations with Edo State APC stakeholders, the NWC has approved DIRECT PRIMARIES as the mode of election to be used to produce the Governorship candidate of the Party for the state.

“In view of the large numbers of aspirants jostling for the Party’s ticket in Edo State, the NWC urged the stakeholders to unite in trimming the number of aspirants.

“The NWC urged all the Governorship aspirants to exhibit Party discipline and patriotism by shunning the attitude of running to the Courts at every opportunity instead of exploring internal dispute resolution mechanisms, especially after Party Primaries.

‘It was resolved that for the smooth running of the Party, all members should ensure strict compliance with their financial obligations to the Party, in line with the Party’s Constitution.

“The NWC also resolved that for want of time, the E-registration exercise of the Party for fresh members be conducted after the Primaries in order not to derail the smooth conduct of the Primaries.

“The stakeholders were urged by the NWC to promote unity within the ranks of the Party in order to go into the election as one family bound by progressive ideals and fully geared to reclaim the Party’s mandate in Edo State”, he said.

In his remarks, APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, stressed the need for improved internal democracy to produce a popular and widely accepted candidate, aiming to reclaim Edo State.

“We have to improve our internal democracy – we have to deepen and widen it. We need to understand the party and its manifesto; its rules and regulations. We need to understand its philosophy.

“We need to move towards having a party ideology so that we will not be an ordinary political association whereby everybody can come in just to win an election.

“We have to be transparent and at the same time we have to also adopt a guided democracy where we can discuss issues so that we limit if possible the number of contestants.

“Edo is an APC state. Now we have to take Edo back. We have only one state from the South South for the greatest party in Africa which is not acceptable. We were able to get only Cross River State; after crossing so many rivers we succeeded in getting Cross River. But Edo State, we Isha Allah must get it”, he added.

Former APC National Chairman and Edo State party leader, Sen. Adams Oshiomole, affirmed their determination to reclaim the state from the Peoples Democratic Party in the upcoming governorship election.

Oshiomole said APC stakeholders in Edo have embarked on a series of dialogue with governorship aspirants to ensure a rancour free primary and to eventually win the September 21 governorship polls.

“We are particularly determined, as you can see everybody here has a robust past and even present. We are determined to reclaim Edo State. I used the word reclaim because Edo is ours. We lost it due to several factors, some of which were caused by some APC elements.

“On our part, we have tried to initiate dialogue among our aspirants. It is no secret that at the time we had the dialogue, I think they (aspirants) were 27. I learned it has increased to 29 now. The process is ongoing, and the struggle continues. So we are looking forward to a healthy deliberation.”