Published February 16, 2021
Tunde Oyekola and Adebayo Ayinde
The Minister of Information and Culture , Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and other aggrieved members of the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, on Monday , called for the cancellation of the registration /revalidation exercise in Kwara State .They also demanded that the Senator John Danboyi- led panel sent to the state be disbanded and , in its place , a neutral body be set up to carry out the exercise .Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of other aggrieved party members in his ward in Oro , Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State , claimed that party guidelines for the exercise were observed in the breach .While listing the demands of those he referred to as critical stakeholders who were sidelined, the minister demanded for the “ Immediate cancellation of the APC Membership Registration Exercise in Kwara State and the putting in place of a process to ensure the conduct of a credible and fair exercise that will enjoy the support and confidence of all .“ The Immediate disbandment of the Senator John Danboyi- led Membership Registration Committee for Kwara State . A vast majority of the APC stakeholders in the state have lost confidence in the committee .“ The constitution of a fresh membership registration committee that is truly independent , non -compromised and sensitive to the delicate diverse interests in the party ; a thorough investigation into the botched membership registration exercise by the Senator John Danboyi -led committee .“ That these demands are the irreducible minimum requirements for peace and progress in the Kwara APC .”According to him , some of the noticeable infractions committed by the panel included but not limited to , the refusal of the registration panel to meet with stakeholders , the refusal of the panel to deliver registration materials to units and holding the exercise in a police facility under the supervision of a Divisional Police Officer .He accused the Danboyi- led committee of pandering to the whims of one, out of four tendencies that make up the APC in the state .However, the state APC Caretaker Committee Chairman , Alhaji Abdullahi Samari , in a statement issued in Ilorin , on Monday , said, “ The party welcomes the decision of Alhaji Lai Mohammed to embrace the process and join the teeming members of our party who are revalidating their membership at their respective polling units . The process is obviously open to all .“ Our review of the process so far shows that several thousands of our members have revalidated their memberships while many members of the public have also joined the party.“ We commend the Senator John Danboi -led committee from the APC Headquarters Abuja for the excellent job it is doing and the methodology it has employed to keep the exercise peaceful and orderly across the state in strict conformity with the registration guidelines .”100 million will register for APC by 2023 – SenatorThe Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District in the National Assembly , Mohammed Musa , expressed confidence that by 2023 , the population of registered members of the APC would hit 100 million .Musa said this , after revalidating his membership on Sunday . He said , “ APC is very solid in Niger State and we are going to continue making it solid. We are showing Nigerians that APC is a transformational party. We know that we have registered members and we also know that, come 2023 , we need new members.We are looking at registering about 100 m Nigerians into APC during this membership revalidation and registration exercise which means victory for APC at all times. ”