The Chairman Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress, Governor Mai Mala Buni, has defended his committee’s decision to embark on membership registration and revalidation exercise for the ruling party.
In a statement on Thursday, he said that the ongoing exercise is constitutional and conducted within the ambit of the law.
It was earlier reported that the pioneer Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, had on Wednesday, described the decision of the Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker Committee to embark on a fresh membership registration as an aberration.
He also advised the committee to resist the temptation of falling for the sit-tight syndrome which he noted usually characterized most “handpicked authorities in most underdeveloped countries of the world.”
But Buni in a statement by his Director General, Press and Media Affairs, Malam Mamman Mohammed, said the registration would give new members of the party a sense of belonging.
Part of the statement read, “The membership registration and revalidation exercise was a constitutional provision which is part of the strategic measures taken by the committee to give existing and new members a sense of belonging.
“Since the initial exercise in 2014, the party has not registered new members nor updated the personal information of our existing members as provided for by the constitution.
The registration exercise gives our new members a sense of belonging and the existing members will update their information while those who left the party will have their names removed from the party register.
“Our focus is to strengthen the party through a bottom-up approach and to carry everyone on board, while those aggrieved have happily rejoined APC just as new ones have joined the party.
“The Caretaker Committee has reconciled many aggrieved members and factions across the country including the Zamfara state factions among others and bringing in prominent politicians into APC including Mr David Umahi the serving governor of Ebonyi state with more coming.”
