••• Gov Becomes First Registrant; NIN Compulsory for Membership
Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, CON, on Monday flagged off the e-registration and revalidation of membership for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The Governor was documented as the first official registrant, symbolizing the commencement of the exercise designed to create an accurate, digital membership tally for the party.
The program was organized by the State APC, led by the Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, as a Stakeholders’ Engagement ahead of the exercise.
Speaking at the event, Governor AbdulRazaq emphasized that the primary goal of the exercise is to strengthen and expand the party, cautioning officials against any form of exclusion.
“Now, for those who have been tasked with this exercise: don’t exclude anyone. We need all the members we can get as this is an opportunity to canvass new members, He said.
“Use our achievements to market the party, to make sure that we expand from where we used to be.” He added.
Gov AbdulRahman stated that the accurate data would be used to enumerate, canvass, and protect ourselves properly, empower ourselves properly, not leaving anyone behind.
He reaffirmed his administration’s sterling performances across every sector as the strong platform for membership mobilization.
On his part, the State APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, welcomed the exercise, noting that it was crucial for the party’s integrity.
He referenced past elections where the party recorded high paper registration numbers (up to 40-50 million nationally) but failed to translate those into proportionate votes (e.g., only 10-15 million votes found in the last election).
“This E-registration is so simple and very easier, it won’t take more than two minutes latest five minutes due to our Nigeria network.” He said.
Fagbemi praised President Tinubu and Governor AbdulRazaq for initiating the project to identify true APC members and those who are scamming us.
In his goodwill message, Hon. Abdullateef Gidado Alakawa, Chairman, Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, supported this view, stating the exercise offers an opportunity to strengthen membership.
“We are not going to be audio politicians but ones who will bring our votes.” He said.
Hon. Mubarak Salau Bello, the State Coordinator for the e-registration, provided guidelines for the process, noting that only members with a valid National Identification Number (NIN) are eligible to be registered.
The Kwara State Government has provided a solution for those without a NIN at the NIMC office at Asa-Dam, He said.
Mubarak added that a total of 579 registration agents will be onboarded from across the 193 wards. Each agent will be provided with power banks that can last for 2-3 days to overcome power supply challenges.
He highlighted that the process is designed to be completed quickly, taking less than five minutes.
On her part, Princess Bukola Babalola, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor and Hon. Razaq Lawal, Chairman, APC Elders’ Caucus also urged party members to ensure the success of the mobilization efforts.
9japarrot reports that the event had in attendance all government officials, All the 16 Local Governments Chairman, Reps and Senators who mostly well represented, All APC Wards, Local Government and State Executives, Party stakeholders, Federal Govt appointees, among others.