Osun State’s former Deputy Governor and Senator Iyiola Omisore has described his disqualification from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries as “a huge joke.”
He and six others were disqualified by the screening panel last week on grounds of not presenting the requisite number of nominators from party chapters in every local government in Osun State.
Only two scaled the hurdle, according to the panel.
However, the former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) rubbished the decision while addressing the Press after appearing before the APC Appeal Committee in Abuja on Saturday.
He denounced the credibility of the screening panel’s report.
For him, the panel’s actions were influenced by external pressure and partisanship.
Omisore said, “The panel report is the biggest joke of the year. It is unfortunate that partisanship has been taken beyond politics. We know that the panel produced multiple reports, and the one submitted to the secretariat was not the original. As we speak, none of us has been shown the report or told why we were disqualified.”
He further alleged that the Chairman of the panel privately admitted to being under pressure to disqualify all major candidates in favor of a particular individual.
“The Chairman informed us that he was facing this pressure. Unfortunately, we are all victims of this situation,” he added.
Omisore also challenged the reasons given for his disqualification, particularly the panel’s assertion that the candidates lacked the required number of nominators.
Omisore argued that the party leadership had full access to the membership register and should have verified the details before making such a claim.
“He who alleges must prove,” he stated, further expressing confidence that the National Working Committee (NWC) would overturn the disqualification decision.
Omisore said that the issues raised by the panel highlighted deeper divisions within the Osun APC.
According to him, the committee’s own report acknowledged the party’s factionalisation and the risk of losing the upcoming election.
Omisore revealed that all seven disqualified aspirants would individually appear before the appeal panel for fresh scrutiny.
