PDP mocks APC, says extending membership registration ploy to inflate figure

Tunde Opalana, Abuja 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has derided the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for again extending its ongoing nationwide membership registration and validation exercise by three weeks.

While insisting that the apathy that greeted the exercise has forced APC to continue extending it, the opposition party said this signals the rejection of the ruling party by Nigerians ahead of 2023.

The party as well alleged a plot by individual APC leaders to inflate membership figures in their constituents for purposes of manipulating future elections.
The PDP  asked the All Progressives Congress to “stop pushing its fake membership registration exercise in the public space as Nigerians can no longer be swayed by such derisory venture”.

It asserted that the moves by the APC to declare another extension of the membership registration, confirm that the entire exercise is “a mere sitting room manipulation designed to produce a bogus membership figure”.

National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan in a statement Thursday said “our party has nothing but pity for the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC Caretaker Committee, which has become overweighed by the burden of producing an inflated membership register, following the rejection of the APC by Nigerians.

“This is especially as the public is already aware of the disagreements among APC leaders over allocation of figures, which led to the bloody clashes that trailed the failed exercise in many states of the federation.

“APC ought to know that the game is over, after Nigerians rejected their monetary inducement of N10,000 per registration, even after they offered night registration in some state.

“The PDP counsels the APC leadership to note that further extension of the botched exercise cannot attract the sympathy of Nigerians or give any credence to any fake figure they intend to come out with.

“The outburst by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and other APC leaders, who were ostensibly edged out in the membership allocation racket, had already exposed the plots by the APC to launch a fabricated register.

“Our party urges the APC leadership to listen to the voice of reasons coming from elders of their party like former Governor Bisi Akande, and end this dance of shame”. 

The PDP said it will, at the appropriate time, expose all the shenanigans of the APC, “including the roles played by desperate individual APC leaders in this attempt to beguile Nigerians with a fictitious membership register”