There is tension among the governorship aspirants of the ruling APC in Kogi State over a purported plot to doctor the delegates’ list ahead of the primary election where the standard bearer will emerge.
Sources told Daily Trust yesterday that the-power-that-be in the Confluence State was no longer comfortable with the list submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
One of the sources said the list, which comprised delegates from 239 wards and 21 local government areas, might be doctored to include the names of those who would support the aspiration of the preferred aspirant.
Though 12 out of the 16 governorship aspirants on the APC platform had been screened out by a six-member screening committee headed by Senator Hope Uzodimma, Daily Trust gathered that more aspirants had been cleared by an appeal committee.
A meeting of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) was held yesterday to consider a report of the appeal committee which was said to have finally cleared a former Chief of Naval Staff, Usman Jibrin and Yakubu Mohammed among others.
The two aspirants together with Prof. Mohammed Seidu Onailu, Mustapha Mona Audu, Hadiza Iyoma Ibrahim, Yahaya Odidi Audu, Sani Lulu Abdullahi, Gen. Patrick Adenu Akpa, Engr. Danlami Umar Mohammed, Babatunde Ayo Kunle Irukera, Rukkaya Ibrahim and Mohammed Abubakar Audu were earlier disqualified by the Senator Uzodimma -led screening committee.
The committee cleared only four aspirants, including incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello, Mrs Ekele Blessing, Engr. Abubakar Bashir and Hassan Abdullahi.
Meanwhile, the governorship primary election had been scheduled for tomorrow, while the outcome of the exercise could be challenged or appealed against by Monday, September 2.
