The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that aspirants with a history of repeated electoral defeats will be shut out of its ticket allocation, as the party sharpens its strategy ahead of future polls.
State Chairman, Emperor Jarrett Tenebe, made the position clear during a live appearance on TVC News, stressing that only candidates with proven electoral success will be considered.
Tenebe, while defending Governor Monday Okpebholo’s ambitious pledge to deliver 2.5 million votes to President Bola Tinubu, said the target can only be achieved through strategic candidate selection.
According to him, the APC’s rising influence across Edo gives it a strong footing, but warned that poor choices at the primaries could derail the party’s momentum.
“We cannot field any serial losers in any election,” Tenebe declared, arguing that candidates with a track record of defeats are likely to repeat the same outcome.
He disclosed that, for now, only President Tinubu and former governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole have secured the party’s endorsement, describing Oshiomhole as a dependable vote magnet in Edo North.
“Oshiomhole is a brand. When you field him, you already know the votes will come,” Tenebe said.
The APC chairman further claimed that opposition structures in the state are collapsing into the ruling party, expressing confidence that the 2.5 million vote target is “a task that must be done.”
He, however, maintained that the party’s biggest risk lies not with the opposition, but in its own internal decisions, particularly the choice of candidates.
