The All Progressives Congress (APC) has ruled out zoning of its ticket and adopted the direct mode of primary for the election of its candidate for the Edo State governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed September 21 for the election, while the APC has fixed February 17 for its primary poll.

Addressing newsmen yesterday after a meeting between the National Working Committee (NWC) and stakeholders in Edo State in Abuja, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Duro Meseko, said there are so far 29 aspirants in the race.

He, however, ruled out zoning of the party's ticket to a particular zone in the state, adding that the NWC was prevailing on some aspirants to step down for a few to slug it out at the primaries.

Meseko who said the APC is determined to reclaim the state from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) assured that the party would give all aspirants a level-playing field and conduct a free, fair and credible primary poll to ensure no aspirant goes to court to challenge the outcome.

He said though only one of the 29 aspirants has purchased his expression of interest and nomination forms ahead of the primaries, all aspirants would sign an undertaking that they won't sue the party after the primaries.

He said, "After due consultations with Edo State APC stakeholders, the NWC has approved direct primaries as the mode of election to be used to produce the governorship candidate of the party for the state. In view of the large numbers of aspirants jostling for the party's ticket in Edo State, the NWC urged the stakeholders to unite in trimming the number of aspirants.

The NWC also resolved that for want of time, the e-registration exercise of the party for fresh members be conducted after the primaries in order not to derail the smooth conduct of the primaries.

Speaking during the stakeholders' meeting, the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said the party would ensure internal democracy thrived in its fold, adding that the party was working hard to reclaim Edo State.

Similarly, a former National Chairman of the APC and ex-governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, said, "We are determined to reclaim Edo State. I used the word reclaim because Edo is ours. We lost it due to several factors, some of which were caused by some APC elements."