APC bars two ministers from contesting governorship primaries
The ruling All Progressives Congress has disqualified two serving ministers from contesting governorship elections in their states.
The minister for communication and information technology Adebayo Shittu and that of women affairs Aisha Alhassan were not cleared by the party’s screening committees.
The primaries are scheduled to hold on Sunday, September 30.
Although the reason for not clearing Alhassan was not stated in a statement released by the party on Thursday evening, it stated that Shittu was disqualified because he did not undergo the compulsory one year National Youth Service Corps.
Shittu has defended his decision not to enrol in the Corps when he was supposed to. He said his election into the Oyo State House of Assembly immediately after graduation in 1979 replaced the mandatory service. An NYSC spokesperson, however, insisted that Shittu’s defence was not tenable.
Alhassan’s disqualification may not be unconnected with her open affinity for former Nigeria’s vice president Atiku Abubakar, who dumped the ruling party in 2017. Abubakar is currently seeking the presidential ticket of the People’s Democratic Party.
Details soon.
