TheCable

Two aspirants who indicated interest in contesting the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Ondo gubernatorial poll have been disqualified.

Yakubu Dogara, chairman of the screening committee, broke the news to reporters in Abuja on Friday.

Dogara said the two aspirants were ineligible to partake in the party’s primary slated for July 22 and July 23.

He, however, said the disqualified aspirants were free to approach the appeal committee which will sit in Abuja on Monday.

“The intention is that anybody who passed through the screening would have almost like a bankable case that cannot be challenged anywhere,” he said.

“So we have critically and analytically looked at all the claims made in all the documents submitted to us and I am happy to announce to you that we have completed the assignment and provisional certificate of clearance has been signed by the committee.

“It will be distributed to the candidates right now some of them who are here collecting their certificates. Unfortunately, in this case, I am not happy to report this to you that two aspirants failed the litmus test.

“That is not to say that they have been disqualified because we don’t have the powers to disqualify anybody.

“There’s still the opportunity of redress at the appeal panel, which will sit on Monday.

“So if any of the two candidates that didn’t pass screening feels that maybe some kind of miscarriage of Justice was done like they have the opportunity to appeal in the court, he is entitled to launch that appeal from now onwards.”

Dogara did not disclose the identities of the disqualified aspirants.
Agbola Ajayi, the deputy governor of Ondo; Eyitayo Jegede, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN); Eddy Olafeso, national vice-chairman (south-west), Banji Okunomo, Olusola Ebiseeni and Bamidele Akingboye, are some of the aspirants of the PDP in Ondo.