…Says Party not wooing Jonathan for 2023 Presidency
Tom Okpe, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress, APC has restated commitment of the party to reconciling aggrieved members, uniting the party, registration and revalidation of its members emphasising that it’s not wooing former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to contest the 2023 Presidential ticket under its platform
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Yobe state Governor and chairman, APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Mai Mala Buni also said the registration and revalidation exercise would assist the party to generate a valid, accurate and upto date data on party membership to enhance and support its planning process.
While speaking in Abuja on Thursday through his Director General, Press Media Affairs Mamman Mohammed, Governor Buni said the party has through the Caretaker committee succeeded in building a new confidence among its members, reassuring them of a new hope in the party.
He said: “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 members 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 including David Umahi, the serving governor of Ebonyi state with more coming.”
The Chairman also said 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 update personal information of 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,” he added.
Buni dismissed claims that APC was wooing former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2023 presidency on its platform saying 2023 is not on its agenda for now.
“It is diversionary to start discussing 2023 elections now. We have a sitting president, Muhammadu Buhari, who is less than two years in office of his second term, we are concentrating on the success of his administration.”
He explained that the visit by some governors to former president Jonathan was solely to felicitate with him on his birthday anniversary and nothing more.
“This was done to honour him as a former leader, after all, in spite of the political differences, President Buhari had on some occasions delegated him on regional assignments,” he emphasised.
