From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The South-West publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Karounwi Oladapo, has said that the ongoing APC membership registration/revalidation exercise has attracted defections from the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), adding that the development is a beacon of hope for the party to win the Ekiti 2022 governorship and 2023 general elections.
Expressing his optimism, Karounwi, in a statement on Saturday in Ado-Ekiti, said:
‘Thousands of the PDP had renounced their membership cards in his local government in Efon Local Government and registered with APC, which he said has further depleted the opposition’s ranks.
‘Even though the APC units’ registrars didn’t demand for the submission of the PDP membership cards as a condition for registering with the APC, many of the defectors insisted they wanted to surrender the PDP cards because they couldn’t stand the offensive sight of the cards around them anymore!
‘This was the situation in all the 119 polling units in Efon Local Government. This must be the situation in all the polling units in Ekiti State and Nigeria.
‘The PDP leaders busy themselves dividing and factionalising their party in Ekiti State, South West and other places while the APC leaders and members keep mobilizing and wooing PDP members at the grassroots/ units level to their party.
‘The APC has used the ongoing APC membership registration/revalidation as a mobilisation strategy to reduce PDP to an empty shell. PDP members seem to be unconscious of this anyway.
‘I do hope the PDP members will not cry foul when they lose Ekiti 2022 Gubernatorial elections and 2023 presidential elections, which they are bound to lose.
‘Unfortunately, the PDP members don’t realize Facebook and WhatsApp are not political parties, neither are they polling units where elections are conducted and counted. PDP popularity on social media and constant condemnation of APC on social media will not be counted by the electoral umpire in the declaration of winners of elections. Only the voting results at the polling units do!
‘Understandably, the opposition stays more, and are more popular on social media because many of the opposition politicians are less engaged but found engagements on the social media, unlike the ruling elites that are preoccupied with public and State responsibilities.
‘However, the opposition could have utilized their idle time better by investing it in recruiting more members into their fold in the grassroots like the APC is doing. Above all, there is no shortcut to victory. As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.’