Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has alleged that a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) presided over the membership registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara North Senatorial District.
He called for the cancellation of the registration and validation exercise of the ruling APC in the 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.
He also accused the the seven-member APC Membership Registration Committee for Kwara, led by Senator John Danboyi, of incompetence.
“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.”
Till date, no such member has been given the registration slip. Even senior officials of the State Government, including Special Advisers, as well as House of Assembly members, have had to register using exercise books/foolscap sheets (we have video and pictures to corroborate this). Also, due to the shoddy and non-compliant mode of registration, using exercise books and foolscap sheets instead of the membership register, many members are unwilling to submit their personal details via such unsecured and illegal process. The question to ask, gentlemen, is: Where are the Registration Materials that were brought to the state?
Many members can’t register
“Also in Irepodun, my local government, registration officials only showed up once and disappeared, making it impossible for many members to register. Also, even though the registration exercise was supposed to last two weeks, registration officials only showed up in many registration units for only one day. There is no stronger evidence of deliberate exclusion than this. Also, if the purpose of this registration exercise is to revalidate old members and register new ones, why then are people being prevented from registering? Meanwhile, members across the state who have complained about the non-compliance with the guidelines have been arrested and threatened with prosecution, while many have been beaten up. At the last count, over 100 of our members have had to been bailed from police stations.” He explained.
