By Emeke Alexander
All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen in the 18 local government areas of Edo State on Thursday rejected Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the party’s consensus governorship candidate.
Addressing a news conference at the state secretariat in Benin, the chairman of the forum of APC chairmen in Edo State, Elder Benjamin Oghumu, declared as null and void Ize-Iyamu’s May 26 consensus candidature granted him by a faction of the party to loyal to the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
Elder Oghumu said that: “Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is not a member of our party. Hence, the urgent need to reject the acclaimed consensus which is totally false without foundation.”
While noting that Ize-Iyamu has not fulfilled requirements for waiver granted him on May 21, the Edo APC chairmen recalled that: “Ize-iyamu led his followers out of All Progressives Congress in 2004 and even contested the governorship election on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party in 2016 election which he lost.
“The purported waiver granted to him by the National Working Committee of the party was null and void as spelt out in article 31 of the party constitution which confers the power to do such on the National Executive Council of the party.”
“Pastor Ize-iyamu only recently joined Edo Peoples Movement (EPM), a group organised by Oshiomhole to destabilise the APC in Edo state. Our party has a constitution and the constitution make it clear on how things are done including registration of new members.
The Edo APC chairmen affirmed their loyalty to Governor Godwin Obaseki saying he is the only person they recognise and that they are solidly behind him for a second tenure.
They, therefore, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call Oshiomhole to order before it is too late.