The five-man screening committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Saturday, June 20, has screened the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, ahead of the PDP governorship election scheduled for Thursday, June, 25.
Obaseki, who visited the National Secretariat of the PDP in Abuja on Saturday afternoon to appear before the PDP Edo State Gubernatorial Screening Committee.
This comes a day after he picked his expression of interest and nomination forms at the party’s national office ahead of the September 19 governorship election.
Governor Obaseki was screened by the five-man committee led by Kingsley Chinda with Boyele Debekeme as the secretary.
Members of the committee included Oladimeji Fabiyi, Senator Joy Emordi, and Aishat Hasindu.
The committee had screened three aspirants – Gideon Ikhine, Ogbeide Ihama, and Kenneth Imansuangbon.
Governor Obaseki appeared before the screening committee four days after he resigned his membership from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He later joined the PDP on Friday and picked up his membership card, in a bid to realise his second term ambition after he was screened out of the APC governorship primary election.
Hours later, the PDP leadership announced a waiver for Governor Obaseki and his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, to contest for elective office on its platform.
This comes ahead of the PDP governorship election scheduled for Thursday next week.
The PDP had fixed June 19 and 20 to conduct the exercise but shifted the date to June 23, and later June 25.
Meanwhile, Newsflash247 had earlier reported that 17 out of the 27 members of the executives of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ward 10, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State have lifted the suspension on Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Emuakemeh Sule, Secretary of the ward, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja on Saturday.
Oshiomhole was suspended by the party in November following his protracted disagreement with Governor Godwin Obaseki.
It was on this basis a high court in the Federal Capital Territory ordered his suspension as the party’ National Chairman.
Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja had upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
An FCT High Court had on March 4 granted an application by six members of the APC in Edo State suspending Oshiomhole from office.
A three-member panel of justices led by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem held that Oshiomhole’s appeal challenging his suspension was unmeritorious.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Lamido, on Tuesday, the three-man panel dismissed Oshiomhole’s appeal for lacking in merit.
Governor Obaseki before defeated to the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, and his predecessor, Oshiomhole have been at loggerheads over the governor’s second term bid and other issues.
The feud between Obaseki and Oshiomhole has polarised the party in Edo State.
Obaseki asked Oshiomhole to recuse himself from the nomination processes of the primary but the party did not act on his request.
The faction loyal to Oshiomhole endorsed Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as its consensus candidate for the June 22 governorship primary election of the party.
