The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has called for the cancellation of the ongoing membership registration and validation exercise of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State. Mr Mohammed, at a press conference in his hometown, Oro, on Monday, said the officials sent to the state to conduct the exercise have violated the procedure set by the party. Specifically, he said the committee flouted the guidelines regarding distribution of materials for the exercise. “The guidelines are also clear on how registration materials are to be handed over and distributed. It says officials for the assignment are prohibited from handing over registration forms, other materials inclusive of registration data in a manner not prescribed by the exercise to unauthorized persons, and that the materials (forms, registers and others) are to be distributed directly to the Registration Officers, and records of the distribution are to be captured and reported accordingly,” he said. He demanded the “cancellation of the APC Membership Registration Exercise in Kwara State and the putting in place of a process to ensure the conduct of a credible and fair exercise that will enjoy the support and confidence of all.” He also accused the committee of taking sides on the crisis rocking the state chapter of the party by sidelining major ‘stakeholders’ who worked for the election of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the lingering crisis in the party centred on a rift between Mr AbdulRazaq and a group of party leaders led by Mr Mohammed. It recently escalated when Bashir Bolarinwa, who is loyal to Mr Mohammed, was removed as the party chairman and replaced with Abdullahi Samari. Although the national body and executives of the North Central zone of the party have intervened in the matter, they are yet to achieve reconciliation of the warring members. Observers had warned that the lingering crisis threatened the successful conduct of the membership registration and revalidation exercise which began last Tuesday. They said if not resolved, the crisis might thwart Mr AbdulRazaq’s chances of reelection. Read the full text of Mr Mohammed’s address at the press conference below. Observers had warned that the lingering crisis threatened the successful conduct of the membership registration and revalidation exercise which began last Tuesday. They said if not resolved, the crisis might thwart Mr AbdulRazaq’s chances of reelection. Read the full text of Mr Mohammed’s address at the press conference below. TEXT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE HON. MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED,ON THE ONGOING APC MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION EXERCISE …IN ORO, KWARA STATE, ON MONDAY, FEB. 15TH 2021 Good morning gentlemen of the press. As you are aware, the All Progressives Congress (APC) membership registration started in Kwara State on Feb. 9th 2021. Ahead of my registration this morning at my polling unit, PU 006, Oro Ward 2, we had sent out our people to monitor the process to ensure compliance with the guidelines stipulated by the party. The reports from our monitoring teams are out, and I wish to inform you, gentlemen, that sadly, the whole exercise 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, opting instead to work with only one of the four tendencies here in Kwara, the Fagbemi Group to which the Governor belongs, thus excluding 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. Even at the state EXCO, the Fagbemi group has only four members. Also, the recruitment of officials for the registration has been a one-sided affair and indications are that the hand-picked officials are under strict orders ‘from above’ as to how to carry out the exercise. We have evidence to corroborate this. The guidelines are also clear on how registration materials are to be handed over and distributed. It says officials for the assignment are prohibited from handing over registration forms, other materials inclusive of registration data in a manner not prescribed by the exercise to unauthorised persons, and that the materials (forms, registers and others) are to be distributed directly to the Registration Officers, and records of the distribution are to be captured and reported accordingly. Well, I regret to say that these particular provision of the guidelines were not complied with. When the Registration Officials from Abuja landed in Ilorin, they simply handed over the registration materials to an individual, not recognised by the provisions of the guidelines, who has decided to hoard them instead of distributing them to the wards (we also have evidence to back this up). The implication is that the registration is being carried out without Party Membership Register, while temporary membership slips, to be signed and detached from the forms after registration, are not being given to those who have purportedly registered. According to our findings, since the commencement of the registration, over 80% of the registration units do not have either membership register or membership registration slip. In the few places where they are available, they are kept in private apartments of some political office holders. In Baruten, the registration materials were handed over to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, who is from there. In Oyun, the materials were given to one Olayiwola Ojo, a member of the State House of Assembly. In Shao, in Northern Kwara, the registration materials were taken to the police station, where the DPO of that station presided over membership registration, in contravention of the party guidelines. It was only
