Akande: APC membership registration exercise not necessary

By Toba Adedeji, Osogbo

• …says 2023 election important test for the party

• …Membership registration, revalidation is not about faction — Oyetola 

The first interim Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Chief Adebisi Akande, Wednesday revalidated his membership in the party at his constituency in Ila-Orangun, Osun State.

Akande in the company of Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, deputy, Benedict Alabi, Osun Speaker House of Assembly, Hon Timothy Owoeye, Senator representing Osun Central, Bashiru Ajibola, cabinet members and APC chieftains were at the polling unit for the revalidation exercise.

After the revalidation exercise, Chief Akande, in his speech expressed gratitude to the leadership of APC for their choice to do the revalidation exercise for him after President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, he faulted the exercise; he said the membership revalidation exercise was unnecessary.

He described it as a waste of meagre resources which he said had put the applause the party earlier received in abeyance.

The former governor also described the idea of appointing a caretaker committee to lead a political party as another abnormality.

The former APC chairman advised Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Executive Committee of the ruling party to resist the temptation of staying longer in office than necessary.

His words: “The first is that in normal circumstances, a Caretaker Executive Committee for a political party is an abnormality. If not carefully controlled and expeditiously managed, most aberrant authorities end up in contempt and disgrace.

“For this reason, I want to urge the present APC Caretaker Executive Committee to resist all temptations of sit-tight syndromes that usually characterized most handpicked authorities in most underdeveloped countries of the world.

“The second is to say that no population census is repeated within less than a decade and that voters are not re-registered at every election. Within this context, I see the present APC membership registration within less than a decade after the original register as an indefensible aberration leading to certain ugly perceptions.

“The first major perception is that APC, already having a well-computerised register for an average of 100 leaders of similar ideological orientation per each of the more than 120000 polling units across Nigeria, might be lacking comprehension and matrix of the modern-day technology.

“The second major perception is that APC leadership might be wasteful and unappreciative of the proper use of money in a kind of scanty economy in which Nigeria now finds itself. These seeming ugly perceptions put into abeyance the applause of the two national election successes that the original APC register enjoyed since its completion on 15th February 2014 and the over N1billion of 2014’s value that the original register cost when APC had no money of its own.”

Akande warned that the next national election that would elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari would be the most important test of the ongoing APC membership registrations and whatever structure being envisaged to be imposed on it.

“It is my advice and prayer, therefore, that every sense of responsibility should be selflessly employed to make these efforts ultimately results in success for our APC,” he added.

On his part, Governor Oyetola said, “the exercise should not be about faction. Many gladiators left our party so we want to revalidate our members register new members. This exercise should be seamless. This exercise is not in connection with any election at all.”

In an interview with newsmen, the Southwest Chairman of APC Registration Committee, Senator Shuaibu Lawali, explained that the advantage of registration of members in any political party is to have a membership register, saying, “membership registration is the most valuable asset of a political party, the exercise is for the survival of the party.”

He said, “We have not been able to separate those members who left and those who are with us and those that joined us, it would be difficult. For example, Senator Bukola Saraki left with hundreds of our members. Many members left our party in villages. By the time this new register comes out that will be the authentic, reliable and verifiable membership”.

Subsequently, the Southwest Registration Committee followed Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to his hometown, Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area for his membership revalidation.