In the run-up to the 2024 elections in Edo State, Hon. Anslem Agbabi, the Edo North senatorial chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), has firmly asserted that there is no anointed candidate for Edo North. He made it abundantly clear that neither in private nor public meetings has anyone been officially endorsed by the party’s leadership.
This statement comes in response to a recent tea party organized by a committee of friends in Edo North for a specific governorship aspirant, where it was suggested that the APC leadership in Edo North had endorsed a candidate. Hon. Anslem Agbabi emphatically refuted this claim, emphasizing that no such endorsement has taken place.
He expressed his astonishment at waking up to media reports suggesting the endorsement of a candidate in Edo North. He stated unequivocally that the Edo North APC leadership has not yet convened to make such a decision, asserting that they are not political orphans subject to the whims of a few individuals seeking to impose their choice on the party.
Furthermore, Hon. Anslem Agbabi highlighted the significant presence of prominent party members in Edo North, including a former governor turned performing Senator, three House of Representatives members, the vice chairman of the party in the state, and several House of Assembly members. He stressed that these key figures would come together at the appropriate time to determine the party’s direction for Edo State as a whole.
In conclusion, Hon. Anslem Agbabi encouraged all aspirants interested in representing the APC in various districts to proceed with their internal campaigns while awaiting the timetable from INEC. His message is one of transparency, asserting that the party’s leadership will make a collective decision in due course rather than allowing any individual to dictate the candidate selection process. This commitment to fairness and internal democracy is expected to be a defining feature of the APC’s approach to the 2024 elections in Edo State.