Akande Faults APC Membership Registration, Describes Exercise ‘Indefensible Aberration’

A former Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, has described the ongoing membership registration of the party ad an error and aberration.

While faulting the exercise, he said the membership revalidation exercise was unnecessary,and described it as a waste of meagre resources.

Akande, who is a former governor of Osun State said this on Wednesday in Ila Orangun, his hometown, during the revalidation exercise.

The exercise was done at the family house of Chief Akande by the APC Registration Committee members led by Senator Shuaibu Lawali.

At the registration point, the Governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola, deputy, Benedict Alabi, Senator representing Osun Central, Bashiru Ajibola, former deputy governor of Osun, Titilaoye Tomor, Osun State APC Caretaker Chairman, Prince Adegboyega Famodun and other cabinet members of the governor were present.

The former governor also described the idea of appointing 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.

Akande stated that most handpicked leaders usually end up in contempt and disgrace while urging Buni, who is the Yobe State governor, to resist the temptation.

He said, “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.”

While thanking the APC leaders and the delegation that came to honour him, 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 result in success for our APC,” he added.