Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni, has warned those opposing the party’s membership registration/revalidation that President Muhammadu Buhari has been adequately briefed about the exercise.
In a statement he personally issued in Abuja on Thursday, the governor of Yobe State maintained that since the membership register does not reflect the current membership status of the party, the challenging consequences have necessitated the imperative to immediately embark on the exercise.
He further warned that failure of the Caretaker Committee to actualise the mandate of reconciling gladiators within the party could make or mar the chances of APC surviving and its capacity to compete in the national political landscape.
While justifying the resolve to continue with the registration process, Governor Buni said: “In our interactions with stakeholders across the country, the need to update and standardise our membership registration has become a recurring decimal. For obvious reasons, we are not surprised that many stakeholders are of the view that the inability of our party to put in place a working structure for continuous membership register updates and new membership drive is a major factor in some of the conflicts that have caused our party major losses in multiple states and in a number of elections.
“Since the 2014 post-merger membership registration and the inconclusive registration updates of 2017, our party has not been able to produce a comprehensive membership register. During the last five years since our party emerged as the governing party, we have lost members due to either death or defection. We have also received many new members into our party.
“In all cases, our membership register does not currently reflect these changes. This laxity and the challenging consequences have brought into focus the imperative for our party to immediately embark on this exercise.
“Towards achieving this, we have engaged with our party leaders across the country. We have briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the imperative for this exercise as a major pillar for sustainable political harmony and a precursor to developing the capacity to continue to deliver political victories for our party for many years to come.
“It is on this note that our committee is now embarking on a nationwide membership registration and revalidation of the current membership register. We are soon to roll out massive publicity and stakeholders’ engagement processes to mobilise our members nationwide to ensure full participation and a successful outcome,” he said.
The APC boss further explained: “Since the assumption of office on June 25, 2020, the Caretaker Committee has been working to pull our party away from the crisis in the party by prioritising reconciliation at all levels. It has been a painstaking responsibility, which requires every effort to be invested to bring down tempers and ensure that some sanity returned to the party. The process of reconciliation is yielding a lot of positive results and is ongoing.
“As a committee, we understand our specific mandates. We are charged with the responsibilities of bringing about stability and creating an inclusive political environment where every member is given a fair chance, where the rules are unambiguous and are not skewed to favour any individual, group, or interest.
“This should culminate in organising an extra-ordinary national convention that will produce a new National Working Committee (NWC) for our party.”The National Executive Council (NEC) of the party understood that the conditions for equity and fair play must necessarily include a trusted mechanism for conflict resolution. Such conditions must ensure fair hearing and just application of the rules and regulations of our party.
“This will not happen if conflict is main business in the party. Political party anywhere in the world is a platform for contestations and pushing of personal and group interests. The capacity of our party for conflict management and the level of confidence members have in the system would determine the viability and survival of the party.
“We, as members of the Caretaker Committee, are not in doubt about these challenges. In the last four months, since our committee was inaugurated, we have embarked on our assignments with clear focus, knowing that our actions or inactions could make or mar the chances of our party, first, to survive and be stable and second, to have the capacity to compete in the national political landscape.
“This has been our preoccupation and we are confronting our tasks with every caution, patriotic zeal and the milestones we have accomplished within this short period bear bold testimony to our single-mindedness and dedication.
“Our immediate task of resolving the various conflicts across the states have been largely successful. In many of the flashpoints, we have been able to either resolve the conflict or douse the tension, while we continue to make efforts at bringing about an atmosphere that encourages peace and unity of purpose,” he promised.
“We are working hard and speedily to deliver on our mandate even when we understand the need to put a sustainable structure in place towards conducting a credible national convention to usher in a new National Working Committee (NWC).
“We, therefore, solicit the cooperation of all our members to ensure a smooth and transparent registration exercise. On our part, we will continue to provide update of the process on regular basis and do all that is necessary to strengthen our party and deliver a cohesive political structure at the end of our assignments,” Gov Buni insisted.