Until three weeks ago Moshood Salvador was officially still the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party. He only formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday, three days ago.
Moshood Salvador, a former Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party who only formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) three days ago, has been named among the seven-man committee to screen aspirants for the party’s October 4 state assembly primary.
Other members of the committee are Femi Pedro, former Deputy Governor of the state; Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health; Wale Oshu, a chieftain of the party, and Abayomi FInnih, a member of the party’s Governor’s Advisory Council.
Tunde Balogun, the state Chairman of the party, inaugurated the committee on Tuesday at the ACME road secretariat of the party.
Speaking to newsmen after the closed-door inauguration, Balogun said the setting up of the committee was in preparation for the state assembly primary.
He said the committee, which would begin work on Wednesday and finish on Friday, will ensure that aspirants meet the requirements to contest in the primary.
Balogun explained that each member of the committee would chair a sub-committee with members, to respond to the high number of aspirants.
“We have a large number of people who are to be screened to contest in the state House of Assembly primary,” he said.
“We have 40 seats in the state and over 230 aspirants are to be screened. This is a large number, and that is why each member of the committee is chairing a sub-committee to rise up to the challenge.
“We are prepared for this enormous job, and we are even expecting members from the national secretariat to do the work.”
On the inclusion of Salvador in the committee, Balogun said it reflected the party’s promise that all defectors would be treated equally like the others.
He described the excitement generated by the emergence of two challengers to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for the party’s governorship ticket — Jide Sanwo-Olu, a former Commissioner of Establishment and Training and Obafemi Hamzat, a former Commissioner of Works — as good for the party’s internal democracy and a reflection of the beauty of democracy.