I didn’t attend any screening exercise – Ogun governorship aspirant

Gboyega Isiaka

A governorship aspirant under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party, from Ogun West Senatorial District in Ogun State, Gboyega Isiaka, has denied participating in a screening exercise aimed at presenting a consensus candidate by the zone.

The aspirant’s media aide, Wale Junaid, made the clarification on Wednesday in a statement in reaction to the media report that he was ‘screened out’ by the exercise said to have produced Solomon Olamilekan. The screening process was done by the Ogun West Consultative Forum.

He said he was invited to the session to share his thoughts on the best way for the zone to go in realising its desire for the zone to produce the next governor.

Mr. Isiaka added that he was surprised that after the session he started reading (in the news) about screening and endorsement of a consesus candidate which he said never took place nor included in the agenda of the meeting he attended.

‎The statement said: ”In the reports, the name of our principal – GNI was mentioned among the aspirants said to have been purportedly screened before their final choice of Senator Olamilekan Adeola representing Lagos West as the group candidate for 2019 gubernatorial contest in Ogun State.”

The aspirant said it was a fundamental right of any group of people to ”endorse, adopt and or even present any aspirant for election and he has no issue over that.”

The two-time governorship candidate declared that it was wrong mentioning his name amongst the participants in a “screening process that never happened.”

He said about‎ three months ago, he was invited by a leader in the zone, Kayode Ajibola, to come and interact with members of his group, Ogun West Consultative Forum, at Ilaro; and he obliged.

“This is one of several of such interactions that have happened and will still happen in the process. I honoured the invitation with some of my supporters strictly within Ogun West in attendance,” the aspirant said.

‎”I appreciated them, highlighted my understanding of the past mistakes and what I felt should be done as we move into 2019 contest and I submitted by stressing my strength and comparative advantages in the race.”

”The session was called interactive not screening; and the purpose was meant to be fact-finding and proffering solutions not for endorsement or whatever name it is called,” Mr. Isiaka declared.

“Mobody ever mentioned that I was to come for screening and the session never acted as one. I only attended an interactive session among supposed family members from Ogun West on invitation and not for a screening,” he stressed.