Ganduje meets APC state chairmen, calls for dedicated membership

By Jude Opara, Abuja

The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje has charged the state chairmen of the party to ensure that the ongoing registration of members of the party targets dedicated individuals who also have their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

Ganduje who spoke at the weekend at the national secretariat of the party during a meeting with the chairmen said capturing those who are bonafide voters will help the party to know its true strength in each state of the federation.

“And therefore we will be most comfortable if today we know we have 10 million registered members in APC but we must match them with their PVCs. If you don’t have any PVC, we would await until the time you get your PVCs to now register with us so that we can match your registration with the PVC and we will be able to make a prognostication on what can be the outcome of an election even before 2027”.

The national chairman who was full of praises for the chairmen concerning their support for the party also asked them to ensure that the ruling party maintained its dominance in the nation’s political space.

The former governor of Kano State also lauded the state chairmen for the solidarity visit they earlier paid to President Bola Tinubu, assuring them that the government would carefully look into some of the issues they raised with the President on how to mitigate the sufferings of Nigerians.

“Mr. President was very pleased with your visit and he emphasized the issue of electronic registration which we have been working with the consultants and our committee at the headquarters have gone far. Now, we are going to the grassroots level.

“It will be connected across the wards of the Federation but you need to understand the recruitment of officials or personnel who will undertake the exercise, because you are involved in the recruitment and execution of the registration”.

In his response, the chairman of APC Cross River and secretary of the forum, Barr. Alphonsus Ogah said they were in Abuja to congratulate Mr. President and the party on their victory at the various courts after winning the 2023 elections.

Ogah said they would have paid the solidarity visit earlier but for the busy schedule of the President.

“We would have paid this visit long ago, but the busy schedule of the hard working President Tinubu slowed us down, but luckily, that schedule permitted us an opportunity for us to have an interface with Mr. President and in doing so, we saw it as an opportunity to congratulate him in all his numerous victories”.

However, the APC state party chairmen also revealed that apart from congratulating the President, they used the opportunity to let him know that the people of Nigeria are seriously facing harsh economic conditions occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the Naira by the government. Another pertinent issue they also raised with the President was the rising spate of insecurity across the country.

“We took the opportunity too to speak on some very important national issues. We align ourselves with the efforts of the economic reforms being made by Mr. President. But we didn’t loose sight of letting the President to know that as good as this economic reforms are, we are concerned about the insecurity in Nigeria.

“We are concerned about the hunger and hardship and therefore it was a moment for us too to commend Mr. President because we all agreed and you too will agree, that this country is on a voyage it would have been thrown it into oblivion.

“We made it very clear to Mr. President that while no reasonable person will expect him as commander in chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to take up arms and go round the crannies of Nigeria to fight the criminal elements, bandits, kidnappers and the armed robbers, that there is the need for the security agencies saddled with this responsibility to up their game.

“It was therefore a call on Mr. President to wield the big stick on those who are not ready to help him because we have come to the conclusion that some persons are out to distract Mr. President and some persons are out to put this party in bad light. So, whatever efforts Mr. President is making would be beclouded by the nefarious activities of these bandits and vandals. And we think the time has come for Mr. President to say enough is enough”.

The forum equally told President Tinubu to remain focused and stay on track because all the state chairmen are solidly behind him, even as they hailed the emergence of Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje as the national chairman of the party.