POLITICS:Pressure Mounts As APC Committees Fight Over 3 South-east Disqualified Aspirants

The Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress has fixed an emergency meeting so as to reach a decision on list of delegates and aspirants for the party’s June 23 convention.

The meeting scheduled to hold on Tuesday, was announced hours after Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s led Subcommittee disqualified nineteen candidates aspiring for various positions at the national convention.

One of NWC member spoke to newsmen under conditions of anonymity shortly after the disqualification, revealing names of three South-eastern aspirants who were disqualified by the screening appeal committee as follows: the incumbent National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, the National Auditor, George Moghalu and the National Vice-Chairman (South-East), Emma Enekwu.

Efforts to get the entire list of disqualified aspirants proved abortive as the NWC member maintained that the disqualification was based on frivolous petition.

“It is unfortunate that the chairman of that committee (Okorocha) doesn’t seem to understand his mandate.

“The appeals committee does not have the power to ban or disqualify anybody. Its assignment is restricted to dealing with appeals emanating from the conduct of the convention but because he has a score to settle he thinks he can disqualify people by fiat.” the source said.

Recall that Rochas who headed the committee that disqualified 19 aspirants had earlier said that his committee has the authority to disqualifty candidates.

“If there is anybody who has been screened and there is a petition against him, we have the power to uphold his qualification or disqualify him based on the merits of the petition”.