By Jubril Bada

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced plans to rigorously vet the credentials and documents of all aspirants before clearing them for the April 20 governorship primary election in Ondo State.

This move, as stated by the APC legal directorate, is to prevent any potential issues that could affect the party’s integrity before or after the November 16 governorship election in the  State.

The APC secretariat in Abuja has reportedly received this police report and forwarded it to the party’s legal department for advice and recommendations.

A source within the party has indicated that the legal department has emphasized the importance of avoiding a situation similar to the November 2019 incident in Bayelsa State, where the Supreme Court nullified the election of the APC governor-elect, David Lyon, just 24 hours before his inauguration.

However, the National Legal Adviser of the party, Prof. Abdulkarim Kana, has requested the credentials of all aspirants seeking the APC nomination.

In a letter titled “Ondo State Gubernatorial Primaries 2024: Notice of Submission of Credentials/Documents for Vetting to the Legal Department of the All Progressives Congress by all Aspirants,” Kana outlined the process for submission and vetting.

According to the notice, this request aligns with item five of the Amended Schedule of Activities for the Ondo State Gubernatorial Primaries 2024 and is under paragraph 12 of the guidelines for the nomination of candidates for the November election in the state.

Kana directed all aspirants to submit their certificates intended for attachment with the Nomination Form before April 4, 2024.

The vetting process, which involves the physical sighting of documents, is scheduled to take place from April 5 to 10, 2024.

He emphasized that the early submission of credentials is to enable the Vetting Committee to conduct due diligence on all submitted documents thoroughly before the sighting date.