The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) has failed to release the results of governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives aspirants successfully screened last Saturday in Abuja.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party ought to release the results on Monday, but journalists waited in vain at the APC National Secretariat till late in the night and left without getting explanation from the party on why the results were not announced.
However, an anonymous source in the APC Directorate of Organisation told PUNCH that the results would be communicated to the individual aspirants.
Recall that on Sunday May 15 when the screening exercise was conducted at Fraser Suites, Abuja, the party restricted journalists from covering screening of governorship and senatorial aspirants.
It was also reliably gathered that the restriction of journalists from covering the screening exercise was a joint arrangement by the leadership of APC and the hotel management due to the crowd violence and stampede on Saturday night.
On the night of Saturday May 14, violence which resulted in stampede started when touts and photographers who paraded themselves as journalists infiltrated the venue and engaged in a free-for-all fight over money while the exercise was still going on.
A source from the party secretariat said that the main reason journalists were locked out of the screening exercise was to control the huge crowd.
However, the APC National Working Committee completed the two-day screening of 1,693 governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives aspirants on Sunday, in which they were supposed to release the results on Monday.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the party screened the party’s former National Chairman Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for the senatorial tickets.
Others include senator representing the Adamawa North District, Elisha Abbo; his contender, Hamisu Medugu and Ondo State First lady, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, aspiring for the Imo East Senatorial District.
A total of 351 aspirants were screened by the committee led by Mahmud Shinkafi.
Recall that Oshiomhole had earlier declared to run for presidential seat but changed his mind and resorted to contest for a Senatorial seat to represent Edo North.
