Concerns as disputes trail APC revalidation exercise

Across the country, issues have continued to trail the on-going membership revalidation and registration exercise of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), reports by our correspondents revealed.

Sanctioned by the National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party under the leadership of Governor Mai Mala Byuni of Yobe State, the nationwide exercise conceived to update the membership registers of the party has created cracks in some state chapters.

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The uproar trailing the exercise started from the founding members of the party when the pioneer National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande described it as wastage and an aberration, a position the national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the immediate national chairman supported. The trio are of the Tinubu’s camp in the party.

The Buni-committee was constituted in June last year when the Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) was dissolved over the growing acrimony and rancour in the party at both national and state chapters.

Until the commencement of the revalidation exercise, there was relative peace in the party as the Buni-committee had succeeded in cementing the cracks in some of the state chapters and reduced the tension and suspicion among the various camps plotting to grab the structures of the party ahead of the 2023 politicking.

However, reports from our correspondents revealed that the disagreement over revalidation and registration exercise has washed away the relative peace in the party as old foes have renewed their battles and new crisis have emerged in some state chapters.  Daily Trust reports that as the disputes over the revalidation exercise spreads, the caretaker committee has succeeded in reconciling the two factions in Zamfara State.

The numerous assurances by Governor Buni that no member of the party would be left out in the exercise has not reduced the suspicion that it was conceived to edge out some of the chieftains in the scheme of things.

On Thursday, Buni, after revalidating his membership in Bunigari, Gujba LGA, Yobe State, insisted that the exercise was within the confines of the law under article (9) 4 of the party.

“Article (9) 4 of our party is very clear about what we are doing, we cannot do anything outside the constitution. I am assuring all our party members that no one would be left unregistered.

“The exercise is going according to plan as expected and would avail the party chance to wax stronger having more membership in the country,” he said.

Buni’s predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole had said: “There is nothing in the APC Constitution that says a member shall revalidate or renew its membership. Once you register when you joined the party and you have not decamped, you are a member. I have only done this because I want peace to reign.”

Article (9) 4 of the APC constitution, when Daily Trust Saturday checked reads in part, “ Provided that the party shall update its membership records every six months and remit updated copies to appropriate secretariats.”   It would be recalled that the last time the registration exercise was conducted was in 2014 at the formation of the party.

Disputes trail exercise in states

In Kwara State, the exercise has been marred by the lingering internal wrangling in the party with gladiators sharply divided over the control of the structure.

The crisis, however, reared its ugly head on Monday last week during the stakeholders’ committee at the state banquet hall as members of different camps exchanged blows while the embattled state chairman, Mr Bashir Bolarinwa narrowly escaped an attack. The women leader of the party had her vehicle damaged during the pandemonium.

The camp of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq accused the Bolarinwa’s camp of instigating the melee; the accusation which it dismissed.

Also on February 8, two APC governorship aspirants, Alhaji Tajudeen Audu and Alhaji Shuaib Abdullahi were attacked by thugs during the party’s stakeholders’ meeting at Edu, Lafiaji in Kwara North.

Also on Monday, Organising Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Samuel Isa, rejected the registration exercise, saying the selection of the 5,000 registration officials for the membership registration exercise in the state is illegal.

Isa said the responsibility of recruiting registration officials for the exercise was his, wondering why Abdullahi Samari, a deputy chairman in the committee, addressed the media on the exercise.

The exercise in Delta State has been suspended over the crisis rocking the state chapter. The camps of the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege and that of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo are locking horns over the exercise.

To address the issue, stakeholders of the party in the state met at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday and deliberated on how to resolve the crisis.

Niger State governor and chairman of the APC national membership registration and revalidation exercise, Sani Bello, said the  Delta stakeholders’ meeting agreed on a workable method to move the party forward.

“It is not unusual in a political process that you have differences, opinions and what have you. So, Delta State is a very important state for us in the South-South. And we have been able to agree on a workable method to move the party forward.

“So I hope that going forward, we won’t have to come here from Delta State. They should be able to resolve their issues back home,” he said.

In Lagos, despite the reservations expressed by the APC leadership in the state, the exercise has been going on smoothly in the state.

This is, however, not without tension amidst moves by some aggrieved members of the party to allegedly hijack the party structure from former governors of the state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The exercise commenced on Tuesday across various polling units in the state with members trooping out to participate in the exercise.

It’s a different scenario in Ogun State as the crisis rocking the state chapter has taken a toll on the exercise. Some loyalists of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun were reportedly denied from being registered in some local governments.

The Amosun supporters alleged that they were not allowed to partake in the exercise. In some wards, the registration officials were accused of deliberately delaying the exercise for unknown reasons.

Addressing the issue, the Chairman of the Ogun State membership registration committee,  Ademorin Kuye,  said there is no reason to deny anybody from participating in the exercise, saying there are enough forms to capture all the intending members of the ruling party.

Amosun had called for calm among his supporters who alleged in some areas of the state that they were denied participation in the exercise.

In Benue State, there are claims of disenfranchisement.  A crisis in Gboko LGA of the state led to the murder of a ward chairman during the training of the ad-hoc staff a few days ago.

The internal squabble appears to get messier as the LG party chairman, Tarnongo Bam and Secretary, Terver Kyermum have traded verbal insults over the crisis that resulted in the death of Tersoo Ahu, the Gboko South council ward chairman.

Bam in a statement issued to condemn the attack had accused a certain individual of complicity in the crisis that led to the death of the ward chairman, Ahu. The party Secretary, Kyermum, in a swift response, accused the party chairman, Bam of being the cause of the crisis in Gboko.

Reports from Ekiti showed that the exercise was peaceful. Our correspondent reports that the turnout was impressive in the state.

In most of the units in Yenagoa,  Kolokuma/Opokuma and Southern Ijaw of Bayelsa State, visited by our correspondent, party members and stakeholders were seen going about the exercise peacefully.

Also, in Plateau State, our correspondent reports that the exercise has been going smoothly in almost all the 17 LGAs of the state. Before the commencement of the exercise, Governor Simon Lalong had warned officials and other members of the party against hijacking the process.

Daily Trust Saturday investigation revealed that there were no reports of violence or disagreement during the exercise at the time of filing this report. Our correspondent reports that most of the new members who registered in Shendam LGA were women.

In Sokoto, it was observed that the party stalwarts trooped to their respective centres to validate their membership which was restricted to 100 members per polling unit.

The exercise officially commenced on Tuesday, but before then, the leader of the party in the state, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko had revalidated his membership.

By Ismail Mudashir (Abuja), Abdullateef Aliyu (Lagos),  Peter Moses (Abeokuta), Hope Abah Emmanuel (Makurdi), Raphael Ogbonnaiye (Ado-Ekiti), Bassey Willie (Yenagoa), Shehu Umar (Gusau) &  Abubakar Auwal (Sokoto)