The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Assembly Screening Committee has cleared former Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello and Kogi-West, Senator Sunday Karimi.
Bello and Karimi were cleared for the party’s senatorial primary scheduled for today, Monday.
The committee approved 17 aspirants across the state’s three senatorial districts for the primaries.
Bello, whose eligibility had been the subject of speculation in recent days, was officially confirmed after his name appeared as number 13 on the list of cleared aspirants for the Kogi-Central senatorial district race. The former governor is expected to battle Momoh Yusuf Obaro and Ibrahim Yakubu Adoke for the Kogi-Central ticket.
In Kogi-West, incumbent Karimi emerged as the consensus candidate after a stakeholders’ meeting chaired by Governor Usman Ododo at the Government House in Lokoja.
Although 6 other aspirants, including former senator Smart Adeyemi and Aro Bamidele, were also cleared by the committee, political observers believe Karimi remains the front-runner following the consensus arrangement.
For the Kogi-East senatorial district, seven aspirants were cleared to contest the APC primary. They include incumbent Senator Isah Echocho, Joseph Ameh and Murtala Ajaka.
