The National Working Committee, NWC, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, last night drew the curtains on its governorship candidates for the forthcoming general election, with Governor Rochas Okorocha finally losing out in his bid to foist his son-in-law as the party’s candidate on Imo State. This came on a day the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, struck out motions by two factions of APC in the state.

Vanguard gathered that the NWC almost unanimously reverted to the report of the Ahmed Gulak Committee, which conducted the first primary that produced Senator Hope Uzodinma as the party’s governorship candidate for the state.

Meanwhile, loyalists to Governor Okorocha, yesterday, protested in Owerri against recognition of Senator Uzodinma as the party’s governorship candidate, urging Oshiomhole, to recognise Nwosu in Uzodinma’s stead. The loyalists who are mainly over 600 elected councillors in the state, blocked major streets in the state capital.

This is about the third time supporters of the governor have protested in the state over the political battle on who picks the gubernatorial ticket of APC. The councillors, led by state chairman of Councillors Forum, Godwin Nwankwo, also said they would not accept automatic ticket, insisting that the names of those who won the primaries conducted by Ibrahim Agbaabika’s committee should be recognised.

•Excerpted from a Vanguard report