- By Stephen Godonu-
The Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Dr. Salihu Lukman, on Thursday, described those opposed to the planned membership registration /revalidation exercise, as political bandits who were desperate to install surrogate leaders.
Lukman, said this, in response to threats by a group of party supporters under the aegis of Concerned APC members, to take legal action should the Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee, proceed with the registration.
In a statement titled, “Campaign against Membership Registration in APC: A Smokescreen for Surrogate Leadership,” in Abuja, Lukman, noted that claims by some party leaders that the mandate given to the caretaker committee didn’t include membership registration, were being dishonest.
He said, “In this age of banditry, it will appear that some of our so-called leaders are as skillful in politics as the criminal bandits ravaging our communities – towns and villages. We must appeal to these so-called leaders to come back to their senses. For anybody to claim our party’s membership, not even emerge as a leader, the legal standing of such a person must be beyond suspect.
“One will expect any leader of the party with any claim of being a progressive or even democratic politician to welcome the need to have membership registration/verification ahead of the APC National Convention.
“In fact, even after membership registration/verification, before we can satisfy that there are legal delegates for any National Convention, APC would require Ward, Local Government, and State Congresses.
“These Congresses need to hold ahead of the National Convention to affirm that the delegates to attend the National Convention have the authority of party members.”
The PGF DG further explained that the debate ought to be about how to conduct both the membership registration and congresses in ways that would assist in resolving the lingering leadership crisis in the party.
He, however, said, “Sadly, it would appear that it is the old challenge of ensuring that the party remained with crisis-prone approaches based on some tight-fisted control of party structures by some leaders.
“This means, the design is not about laying a strong foundation for the party based on which the rules of the party are the reference point but instead ensuring that the party is controlled by some designated leaders whose only objective is to manipulate the process of candidate selection for elections.
“These so-called leaders advocating for APC to have National Convention without going through the process of membership registration/verification simply want to plant their surrogates as the new leaders of the party. To achieve that, false arguments are being presented that the National Convention of the party doesn’t require membership registration.”
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had on Tuesday given the Buni Committee to go ahead with the registration and revalidation exercise.
