Ensure transparency in membership registration, APC professionals tell party

By Tunde Opalana

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been called upon to ensure fairness and transparency in the forthcoming membership registration and revalidation exercise starting from the second week of January 2021, Daily Times gathered.

The APC Professionals Forum gave the charge on Monday at a press conference held at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.

According to the Forum, this will discourage innuendos and suspicion in the exercise.

The Forum encouraged Nigerians to seize this opportunity to register as members of the ruling party especially young Nigerians who want to contribute their quota to the development of Nigeria’s fledgling democracy nation building.

Speaking on behalf of the Forum, the National Coordinator, Hon.Akeem Akintayo assured new and intending members that APC will guarantee their political participation and potentials.

 It, therefore, urged the leadership of the party to harmonize the interest of both new and old members in their efforts to drive the party for electoral victory in 2023.

“To this end, we trust that the interim party leaders would be transparent, inclusive, reconciliatory, selfless and diplomatic in the discharge of their new mandate for the next six months”, said the group.

The APC Professionals Forum appealed to the party leadership that its members and other relevant support groups should be engaged to supervise and monitor the registration exercise nationwide and forthcoming convention.

The Forum used the occasion to reaffirmed its call on President Buhari to empower the Caretaker Committee to nominate party faithfuls and professionals who have worked tirelessly for the party when reconstituting various boards of MDAs so as to encourage supporters and enhance party loyalty as well as reconciliation efforts ahead of 2023.

While supporting the various decisions taken at the National Executive Committee meeting  held on the 8th of December 2020  to ensure continuous unity and stability of the party , the Forum appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Executive Committee (NEC) as well as the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee  for their wisdom and unity of purpose in piloting the affairs of our party from the misdirection and internal wrangling that engulfed it in the recent past.

It asserted the under the Buni – led Caretaker Committee, the party is now  a more purpose-driven one that is ensuring more dialogue, consultation, engagement and reconciliation of aggrieved founding members as well as attracting new members.

The Forum said “we have proved that as members of one big family, we can manage our differences for the larger interest of our party and that of Nigerians who voted and depend on our unity, integrity  and doggedness  as a party and  government to continue to provide leadership and solutions to  national issues and economic challenges.

“It is indeed therefore not surprising that the outcome of the recent bye-elections in some part of the country attest to the fact that Nigerians still prefer a united and purpose-driven APC as the best option heading towards 2023.

“While we congratulate the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee for this feat and their reconciliatory efforts, we will also enjoin the party leadership to continue to ensure fairness and equity in managing the various interest groups and members as we prepare for politics of 2023.

“No interest or ambition should be more or less important than the other. The resolve to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians should be our utmost interest as a political party as we align and re-align our ambitions within the party”.

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