About 24 hours after being disqualified by the screening committee set up by the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Mudashiru Hussein, believed to be the preferred candidate of the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has finally been cleared to participate in the party primary rescheduled for Tuesday.
The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the party in the state, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, confirmed this to our correspondent in Osogbo in a telephone conversation.
He said having been cleared by the National Working committee of the party, Senator Hussein now stood the chance to contest the party ticket alongside Dr. Ademola Adeleke, who had been screened and cleared for the primary election.
Both the screening and election committee as well as the appeal committee had announced the disqualification of Senator Mudashiru Hussein on Sunday.
The screening and election committee headed by Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Hon. Sanusi Rikiji, had disqualified Senator Hussein on the ground that he was still a serving commissioner in the newly constituted cabinet of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and that he should have resigned his appointment 30 days to the election.
He was also disqualified on the ground that he failed to endorse his nomination form by a magistrate before submission of the intent and nomination form.
The screening and election committee while addressing newsmen on the activities of his committee in the state, noted that their action was in the best interest of the party and the nation in general.
Rikiji further said that the primary election had been shifted from Iwo, the original senatorial headquarters of Osun West Senatorial District, because of the insecurity in the area.
He maintained that the committee consulted with Governor Aregbesola on the security issue and agreed that the primary election be shifted to Egbedore Local Government, also within the senatorial district.
Oyatomi stated that the decision to allow Senator Hussein to participate in the primary election was the outcome of the meeting of the NWC in Abuja, which reviewed the decision of the Appeal Panel, which had earlier dismissed the appeal filed by Senator Hussain on Sunday.
Hussein’s disqualification had been greeted with controversy as the party declared the screening activities and outcome inconclusive.
Apparently, this forced the committee to announce the postponement of the primary election from Monday to Tuesday.
