The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC has, after multiple weeks of postponement and ‘in-house’ power tussle slated its screening exercise of aspirants towards its national convention for Tuesday.

This is coming three days after it was supposed to have begun.

APC’s National Convention Screening Sub-Committee in an invitation signed by its Secretary, Barr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Otagburuagu, said the aspirants will be screened in two batches at the Katsina State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro-Abuja.

The invitation reads:

“His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, CFR the Chairman and Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole, CFR, the Co-Chairman of the APC 2022 National Convention Screening Committee, hereby invites all the Aspirants to the Screening Excercise scheduled as follows:

“Tuesday 22nd March 2022, Screening of National Chairman and other National Working Committee Aspirants by 10am.

“Wednesday, 23rd March 2022, Screening of Aspirants into the Zonal offices also by 10am”.

Meanwhile, the South-west has nominated Mr. Isaac Kekemeke (Ondo State) as its candidate for National Vice Chairman (Southwest) and Senator Iyiola Omisore (Osun) as National Secretary.

Kekemeke is a former Secretary to the Ondo State government and one-time Attorney-General, while Omisore was a two-time Senator.

Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who is the coordinator of the Southwest Governors’ Forum, announced the nominations yesterday.

Speaking through his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, Akeredolu said Kekemeke’s aspiration was not just an Ondo project, but a Southwest project.

He, however, warned against any plot by external forces to truncate the declared interest of the zonal leaders and stakeholders.

The Governor vowed that the zone would resist efforts to create division by attempting to impose aspirants for party offices.

Akeredolu explained that APC stakeholders in the Southwest micro-zoned the positions that were brought to the region.

He said: “He has paid his dues and that is exactly what Mr. Governor has rallied his colleagues to reciprocate.

“Those who are peddling other stories such as national secretary outside Oyo and Osun axis are instruments in the hands of external forces desirous to create division among leaders in the Southwest to impose persons on the party.

“For emphasis, what we are going for is national vice chairman with Kekemeke as our candidate and not the national secretary. Those outside the Southwest, who are attempting to micro-zone our offices for us in Southwest are only creating unnecessary confusion and any such permutation outside the decision of stakeholders in the Southwest should be ignored.”