Twenty-seven All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly aspirants in Ebonyi have alleged plans by the screening committee to disqualify them from the party’s primary election.

Chukwuoji Igodo a spokesperson for the aspirants, made the allegation during a news conference in Abakaliki on Sunday.

Mr Igodo said that a screening committee member had told them shortly after their screening that they were not cleared due to non-payment of party dues.

He said that the aspirants had duly paid their party dues, and that party also issued them with payment receipts.

“Under the 1999 Constitution, political parties are not allowed to impose nomination or disqualification criteria, measures or conditions on any aspirant or candidate for any election,” he said.

He called on the national leadership of the party to call the leader of the party in the state to order to prevent a repeat of what happened to the party in Zamfara in 2019.

“We wish to state that we duly paid our party dues, receipts issued to us by the party, and we are with the receipts.

He added, “If the party allows us to be screened out of the primaries unduly, we shall be left with no option than to seek redress in court.”

Reacting, Stanley Okoro-Emegha, the party’s state chairman, described the allegation as baseless, unfounded and spurious.

“They claimed that the screening committee informed them that they were not cleared based on certain issues which only the committee has the prerogative to decide and instead of interfacing with them, they rather chose to castigate the governor and myself.

“I advise them to explore legally available windows to seek redress if they are not comfortable with the committee’s work rather than to discredit my leadership,” he said.

(NAN)