Ahead of the April 20 governorship primary in Ondo State, one of the aspirants, Hon Olugbenga Edema, has warned that fielding a candidate that carries so much baggage would lead to the defeat of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 16 governorship election.
Edema, a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, also petitioned the National Legal Adviser of APC and called for thorough vetting of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s certificate.
DAILY POST reports that the former governorship candidate of the APC in the 2019 Bayelsa gubernatorial election, David Lyon was declared winner of the election, but a day to his swearing-in as governor, his election was invalidated by the Supreme Court.
The Apex Court ruled that his running mate, Degi Eremienyo Wangagra, submitted a fake certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while ordering that Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who came second in the election, be issued a certificate of return, which would make him governor-elect.
Addressing a press conference on Monday in Abuja, Edema said it would be suicidal for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to field the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for the November 16 governorship election.
He said the reasons for his information to the committee were not borne out of any animosity or ill-will towards Aiyedatiwa or any person but to save the party and the entire APC members in Ondo State from the perdition that befell members in Bayelsa State from which they are yet to recover.
Edema noted that it is a fact that the issue surrounding the WAEC number 15592/019 submitted by Aiyedatiwa to INEC in the year 2020, when he contested alongside former Governor, Arakunrin Akeredolu, had been generating serious controversies in the last two months.
He added that the certificate was said to have been investigated by the police, and a police report signed by DCP Tahir Usman, indicting Aiyedatiwa of certificate forgery, misrepresentation and perjury was issued to that effect.
The governorship hopeful said the grounds for the indictment are: that the authority of Ikosi High School, Ketu, Lagos State, admitted to the police that the school was established in the year 1980.
“That the school was accredited to present candidates to sit for WAEC May/June examinations for the first time in the year 1985.
“That Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa did not at any time attend Ikosi High School, Ketu, Lagos State as his name did not appear in any of the school’s registers from 1980-1985.”
Edema warned the leadership of the party that if due diligence was not followed, any lapse in the screening process would spell doom for the party, as the issue of fake certificates is both a pre-election and post-election matter.
His words: “Therefore, it would be suicidal to field a candidate that carries so much baggage and later lose to the opposition party through the Court. In fact, we have it on good authority, that the PDP aspirants, knowing these facts, are praying fervently that the APC fields Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa as its candidate in the forth-coming Ondo State gubernatorial election.”
Alleged forgery: ‘Fielding candidate with baggage will lead to APC’s defeat in Ondo’ – Edema
