Screening: APC Dismisses Disqualification Report...says, all aspirants are qualified to participate in the primaries

By Aviashima Toom, Abuja

National chairman of the rulling All Progressive Congress Party (APC) Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, has dismissed reports making the rounds that some presidential aspirants were disqualified

The chairman however said all the presidential aspirants were recently at villa with President Muhamadu Buhari on invitation for a dinner and possibly interacts with all of them

He stated in Abuja this while reacting to the recent outburst by leader of the party Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinibu noted that, the party was saddened over his comments on the president and condemned in it strong terms.

His words: "Within the last three days, the country, and the world of the social media have been undaunted with the report of one of our leaders Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State when he went for his campaign in Ogun -Abeokuta in the course of his address he went as far as to mention what happened between him and president Muhamadu Buhari. 

"He went as far as to tell his audience how Buhari went to him, even prostrating in tears, begging him to endorse him for the presidency. He claimed Buhari went to him. The words in Youruba... the interpretation was very very insulting, very very unbecoming of a person of that standing to do what he did to a sitting president produced by the votes of APC.

"It is amazing how a fellow APC person to make that kind of comments about the president. We take exception to this and this doesn't show any appreciable level of respect for the office of Mr President and the person of Mr President.

"Therefore, we want to make it public that we are saddened about the audio and video in that reportage and we condemn it in the strongest terms... those of APC extraction to make those kind of unbecoming comments. Between yesterday and this morning it was retract but that effort is not adequate, it doesn't wipe out the impression that event has left in our minds. 

"This is our position. I as chairman of the ruling party has the duty to come out and stand by our government, to stand by our president".

When asked on the Punitive measure and the screening committee report, the national chairman explained that he would not take both together because they are mischief laden. "I don't want to take the primaries screening to answer this question because doing so is finding the way to justify, give some reasons that may have caused what he did. 

"For one thing I know at the time this event took place the screening committee had not made the report to us at all. The question of punitive measure yes and no. This morning we saw some traces of withdrawal statements. You see these are statements that can emerge not with the intention of the actual actions. So yes, we can't say we don't see in the papers what was reported. It happened. What is out is out. It is not an apology, it is trying to retract. We will be on the watch...for us to penalize any member of the party not just Bola Tinubu, anybody. We will watch events as they unfold". He said

On the issue of Statutory delegates the chairman said as a lawyer, they have serve notice of appeal and matter is in the court and as far as he are concerned, and as far as convention is concerned, statutory delegates are excluded.