AbdulAhad Otuoze
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had Monday criticised Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, over his demand for the cancellation of the ongoing membership registration and validation exercise in Kwara State.
The party advised the minister to submit to the leadership of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in the state.
Lai Mohammed had earlier demanded the immediate cancellation of the ongoing APC membership registration exercise in Kwara for noncompliance with the party’s regulations and guidelines.
The minister made the demand in his home town in Oro, near Ilorin, after partaking in the party’s national registration and revalidation exercise at his PU006 Oro Ward 2.
Speaking at a media briefing, Mohammed demanded the putting in place of a process to ensure the conduct of a credible and fair exercise that would enjoy the support and confidence of all.
He requested the immediate disbandment of the Sen. John Danboyi-led Membership Registration Committee for Kwara State on the ground that a vast majority of the APC stakeholders in the state had lost confidence in the committee.
The minister urged the constitution of a fresh committee that is truly independent, non-compromised and sensitive to the delicate diverse interests in the party.
He said a thorough investigation should be launched into the botched membership registration exercise by the Danboyi-led committee.
Mohammed noted that the demands were the irreducible minimum requirements for peace and progress in the state chapter of the party.
Justifying his demands, the minister said teams had been deployed ahead of the exercise to monitor the process to ensure compliance with the guidelines stipulated by the party.
He said the reports from the monitoring teams revealed that the whole exercise which started on February 9 did not comply with the stipulated guidelines.
“The guidelines stipulate consultation with all stakeholders by the registration officials from Abuja.
“After the botched attempt to have a meeting of stakeholders due to orchestrated violence, the registration officials failed to consult with all stakeholders before the commencement of the membership registration exercise.
“They opted instead to tendencies here in Kwara, the Fagbemi Group, to which the governor belongs. work with only one of the four
“They excluded the three other tendencies – The Akogun Group, the Gbemi Saraki Group and the Lai Mohammed Group, without which the ‘O To Ge’ movement would not have succeeded.
“Ironically, the Fagbemi Group is the weakest of the four tendencies.
“Out of the 193 wards in the state, the group has only nine ward chairmen and does not have even one local government chairman,” he said.
However, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC, Yekini Nabena, berated the minister over his demands, calling on him to submit to the leadership of the governor in the state instead of condemning the registration exercise.
“It is not business as usual. Nobody can monopolise the system. The minister should submit to the governor. He should put himself in the position of the governor too,” he said on Monday.
On discrimination in distribution of materials, the party spokesperson said there was nothing of such.
“No one is using notebooks. There is a party register in every unit across the country,” he said.
