The 16 governorship aspirants jostling for the All Progressives Congress ticket in Ondo State will on Monday file out on the celebration nationwide secretariat in Abuja to gather their certificates of clearance.
This was confirmed by the Deputy Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, in an unique telephone chat on Sunday night.
“Sure, all of the aspirants (Ondo) will likely be coming to the celebration secretariat tomorrow for his or her certificates of clearance. They’re anticipated to be right here by 4.00 pm and I’m conscious they’ve all been knowledgeable,” he mentioned.
The PUNCH additionally gathered that the state chapter of the celebration will on Monday maintain a delegate congress in its 18 native authorities areas forward of Saturday’s governorship shadow ballot on the identical day.
That is consistent with the amended schedule of actions and timetable for the 2024 governorship ballot in Ondo.
The event comes three days after all of the 16 political juggernauts have been cleared to contest on the April 20 main election in Ondo State.
The profitable aspirants embrace the incumbent Governor Fortunate Aiyedatiwa, enterprise mogul and senator representing Ondo South district, Jimoh Ibrahim; Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olusola Oke; former President of Nigerian Medical Affiliation, Prof. Francis Faduyile; mechanical engineer, Dr Funmi Waheed-Adekojo and APC Nationwide Vice Chairman (South West), Isaac Kekemeke.
Others are Akinfolarin Samuel, Okunjimi Odimayo, Adewale Akinterinwa, Olugbenga Edema and Gen. Ohunyeye Olamide, Morayo Lebi, Garvey Oladiran Iyanjan and Ifeoluwa Oyedele.
Aiyedatiwa heaved a sigh of aid on Friday when he turned the primary aspirant to be cleared by the APC screening committee.
The embattled governor had been embroiled in an alleged educational certificates forgery that has threatened his possibilities of clinching the celebration ticket prior to now few weeks.
A authorized practitioner, Oladotun Hassan, had petitioned the Inspector Normal of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Police Service Fee over an alleged transfer by a top-ranking officer to tamper with the report of an ongoing probe into the tutorial credential of the governor; an allegation that the authorized agency of Aiyedatiwa has since refuted.
Equally, one other Ondo governorship aspirant, Gbenga Edema, had pleaded with the Nationwide Chairman of the celebration, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and the Nationwide Working Committee to probe the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the governor’s certificates.
Edema, who claimed he didn’t write the APC out of envy, warned that if the celebration fails to duly vet the credentials earlier than clearing the governor, they could seemingly witness a repeat of the drama that led to the disqualification of Bayelsa APC Governorship Candidate, David Lyon, who was despatched packing by the Supreme Court docket for the same offence after profitable the ballot.
However an excited Aiyedatiwa instructed journalists on the nationwide secretariat of the APC after that he was comfortable the matter had been laid to relaxation following his clearance by the screening committee on Friday.