…Kassim Afegbua: pitching for APC guber ticket
…Reins in Sunday Anamero Dekeri to stop threatening to buy EoI, nomination forms…
A former Commissioner of Information in Edo State and one of the governorship aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, Prince Kassim Afegbua, has backed the outcome of the screening and pruning exercise of aspirants in the state.
The exercise embarked upon by the Hon Julius Ihonvbere-led panel has okayed six out of the 29 governorship aspirants jostling for the party ticket .
Afegbua, who scaled the first hurdle along with nine others, but failed to make the last six (of two per each senatorial zone on the basis of equity and equality of zones), declared that “politics (ambition) is not a do-or-die affair.”
He was apparently responding to the ballyhoo in the ecosystem of Edo APC, reportedly sponsored by another aspirant who did not make the list, to wit: Honourable Sunday Anamero Dekeri, aka DANCO.
DANCO and his supporters, as learnt, had created hoopla on the heels of his failure to scale the first hurdle that had produce ten aspirants, let alone make the list of final six aspirants, despite his famed war chest, which he had allegedly deployed in the process.
Afegbua, in a riposte to DANCO’s veiled and overt threat to buy the expression of interest and nomination forms in spite of the decision of the screening and pruning panel, said in post widely circulated via WhatsApp that “nobody stopped anybody, but the understanding was to prune down the number and we have accepted the six persons; and we are looking at a further pruning down to one person, so they don’t waste money at the national office.
“Tell DANCO to share his money to the less privileged instead of threatening to buy (nomination) form. He should be honourable enough to respect the position of the committee.”
THE CONCLAVE reports that the party has taken administrative notice of the outcome of the screening by the panel: the six aspirants recommended.
A leader of the party said that it was needless for those who were not recommended to resort to blowing hot air and threatening the party. According to him: “Whereas, the party leadership has taken notice of the outcome of the exercise and the disposition by others to either accept of reject the outcome, the party has not debarred from purchasing the expression of interest and nomination forms. They are free to go ahead, but that will speak volumes about how seriously they cherish party discipline.”
Recall that the party had mooted the idea of pruning down the number of aspirants to achieve a manageable size as against a crowded field going into the contest, which fallout might have implications for unity of purpose and focus on winning the governorship election scheduled to hold on September 21, 2024.
[Culled from Conclave]