The national leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has denied the alleged protest at the secretariat in Abuja in respect of the Edo State governorship primaries screening.
The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr. Philip Shaibu has been credited to have said that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole instigated and sponsored protests against Governor Godwin Obaseki, one of the six aspirants being screened for the Party’s June 22 Edo State Governorship Primaries.
But the national publicity secretary of the APC, Lanre Issa-Onilu said on Thursday there was no such thing.
He said in a statement that “We would like to state that there was no protest at the APC National Secretariat, much less a sponsored one as wrongly alleged.”
The statement added: “With several visitors, including journalists covering activities of the Party’s National Secretariat having no knowledge of the so called sponsored protest, we find it strange that the Edo State Deputy Governor has reported a purported protest at the APC National Secretariat when he was in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
“While we are not oblivious of the ongoing political contestations, our politicians should be careful not to overheat the polity with unsubstantiated claims.
“The Party’s leadership has selected an independent, thorough, experienced and diverse team to conduct the ongoing Governorship screening exercise, we call on all stakeholders to give them the needed support and cooperation.
“There is also a need for continuous and rigorous fact checking by the media.
“The screening exercise to verify credentials of the six Governorship aspirants is ongoing at the APC National Secretariat and is being conducted smoothly and hitch-free.”