Edo APC Chairmen vs Ize-Iyamu: The chairmen of the 18 local government areas in Edo State says Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a gubernatorial aspirant in the, is not a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The chairmen, all elected on the platform of APC, said this in reaction to an endorsement by the faction of Adams Oshiomhole, APC national chairman, as the consensus aspirant of the ruling party.

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a former member of the PDP, brought into the party by Comr Adams Oshiomhole,  picked his expression of interest and nomination forms for the position at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.

In irritation a statement on Thursday, the chairmen said the waiver given to Ize-Iyamu by the national working committee (NWC) of the party is illegal.

“We the local government area party chairmen of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state wish to inform the general public for the avoidance of doubt that the purported agreement to return Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as a consensus candidate of APC in Edo state is totally false and without foundation,” they said.

“Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is not a member of our party. He led his followers out of the APC in 2014 and even contested the governorship election on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2016 election, which he lost.”

“The purported waiver granted to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu by the national working committee of the party is ultra vires, null and void, as article 31 of the party constitution confers that power on the national executive committee of the party. Besides, the conditions for waiver prescribed by the party’s constitution have not been met.”

“The truth is that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu recently joined the Edo Peoples Movement (EPM), which is a group organized by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to destabilise APC in Edo State.”

“The party has a constitution and the constitution makes provision on how things are done, including registration of new members.”

They asked President Muhammadu Buhari to call Oshiomhole to order calling for indirect primary election.

With immediate reaction, the said candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu dismissed the claims, saying that those disputing his membership of the party are only engaging in fruitless exercise.

In a statement signed by Mr. John Mayaki, Director of Communication and Media to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organisation said: “Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was one of those who not only formed the APC but drafted the constitution of the APC. It is quite unfortunate that many of these people don’t read; they have not sat down to even read the APC constitution.”

“The APC apart from being a progressive party was deliberately formed to be a mass organisation and one of the things those who drafted the APC constitution (including Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu) did was to make it easy for Nigerians, irrespective of who they are, to be able to join the party like the APC without people like these renegades trying to put hurdles in their way – politics is a game of number. Ideally, you would want to welcome people to your party.”

“If you look at the constitution of the APC, article 9, you will find out that, unknown to them, you can go to your ward and register or you can even do online registration – the essence of this is to ensure that nobody is deprived.”

“When Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu among others were putting the party together, the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki was not there and nowhere to be found; so how do you expect a man who should be a beneficiary of a house that he helped to build be stopped from gaining access into the house?”

“However, knowing the rules, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu went to his ward chairman, Mr. Ogbebor in Ugboko ward in Orhiomwon to say himself among his teaming followers were coming back home, and he was given the party card. The party chairman brought him a party card and the day he was declaring, he raised up his card and said ‘gentlemen, what I am doing is just a mere ceremony’ but the truth about it is that he has actually gone to his ward to register, he openly tenderer his party card and they were shocked.”

“What these people don’t understand is that in the APC constitution, there is even an alternative – the online option and so, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu applied – nobody can quarrel with the online registration; he has the slip, the registration number, his name is on the portal of the party. Again, unknown to these renegades, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu does not really need to rely on that card because with his online registration, nobody can challenge his membership of the party. What they are doing is an exercise in futility.”

How we go do this matter now?