Jonathan not among APC presidential aspirants – Screening C’ttee chair, Oyegun

• *Disqualifies 10 aspirants

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential aspirants screening Committee, John Odigie-Oyegun has laid to rest the insinuations that former President Goodluck Jonathan is contesting the 2023 presidential election on the platform of APC, saying he was not among the presidential aspirants screened by the Committee.

This is even as the Committee said during the screening process, ten presidential aspirants were disqualified from contesting the primaries of the party scheduled to hold between 6, 7 and 8 at Eagle Square in Abuja, though he failed to give the names of those disqualified.

Fielding questions from journalists on the issue of forging a consensus among the aspirants, Odigie-Oyegun who submitted the report to the national Chairman of APC, Abdulahi Adamu, said it is not within their area of assignment to discuss consensus with the presidential aspirants.

‘We are not aware, he is not among those we screened”, Odigie-Oyegun said when journàlists confronted him with question on if Jonathan was among those screened to contest the 2023 presidential election.

He said the criteria adopted by the Committee during the screening were majorly about their background and their idea towards development of the country.

“The criteria used is the background of everyone. Governing the country is not a joke, so you look at the background of everyone, look at their ideas, and their appreciation of the reality of the Nigerian polity.

“The more experience they have, the more contribution they can make to nation building and the more contribution they make to the party itself in terms of making it to be the governing party”, he said.

Earlier receiving the report, the APC Chairman, Abdulahi Adamu commended the Committee for doing a good job, even as he promised that the National Working Committee (NWC) will make use of the report.