The e-registration of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State “is open to every member” of the party, and “There is no discrimination,” State Organising Secretary/Coordinator of the exercise, Mr James Ornguga, has told TNT in a phone interview.
On Monday, January 12, Fr. Hyacinth Alia was registered as the number one member of the party in the state, marking the commencement of the APC e-registration and membership revalidation exercise in the Food Basket State. Fr. Alia was registered in his hometown of Ihugh, Mbadede Council Ward, Vandeikya Local Government Area (LGA).
Although the Mr Austin Agada faction of the APC in Benue has announced Tuesday, January 13, as a separate date for the commencement of the same exercise in Benue, Mr Ornguga said the party’s national secretariat “directed that we work together for a smooth revalidation exercise.” It is not clear how the Agada faction gets legitimacy to conduct the same exercise in Benue.
“In fact, the governor cautioned that he doesn’t want to hear about discrimination in the course of the exercise,” Mr Onguga told TNT, noting that agents for the registration exercise are already in all the council wards of the state.
“So, even before the National Chairman’s directive, we have already made up our mind to carry everyone along. In fact, we have reached out to them (the Austine Agada faction),” Mr. Ornguga explained.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the APC, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has directed all Coordinators of the ongoing nationwide electronic membership registration exercise across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to ensure that no member of the party is left unregistered, warning that any Coordinator who fails in this responsibility will be replaced.
“If any coordinator does not get all members registered in his or her state, we will drop you and appoint another person. The position you occupy is an opportunity to make the party better,” Prof. Nentawe told the coordinators at a meeting in Abuja, FCT.
He reminded the Coordinators that they are the party’s foot soldiers, while charging State Party Chairmen to fully cooperate with the Coordinators to ensure a seamless and successful exercise.
“No Chairman, no Coordinator, and not even a Governor has the power to stop any party member from being registered. No one must be disenfranchised,” Prof. Nentawe warned.
To ensure speed and efficiency, the Chairman directed coordinators to use Android phones where tablets are unavailable, stressing that no state should delay the exercise waiting for devices.
The registration exercise is scheduled to end on January 30.
