APC Considers Extension of Membership Revalidation, Registration

By Adedayo Akinwale

The All Progressives Congress (APC) may bow to pressure to extend the ongoing membership registration and revalidation, THISDAY learnt yesterday.

The exercise, which started on February 9, is expected to end today.

THISDAY, however, gathered that the party is considering a further extension, due to the fact that the exercise is still ongoing in many of the state chapters of the party.

A source in the party told THISDAY yesterday that while the leadership of the party has not taken a decision on the extension, there is a possibility that it would be extended because the exercise has not been completed in many state chapters.

He said: “They have not sat to decide if it will be extended or not. We are still waiting for the communiqué to know if it will be extended or not. We will know by tomorrow if it will be extended because the exercise is still going on in most of the states. There is a possibility that the exercise will be extended.”

On Monday, a group of protesters under the umbrella of Coalition of Political Action Group, had stormed the national headquarters of the party in Abuja to demand an indefinite extension of the membership registration and revalidation.

The protesters, in a letter of appeal for an extension of the registration handed over to the National Secretary of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, said the exercise should be extended indefinitely because it has helped in uniting party members.

The letter signed by Mr. Habeeb Mutallib stated: “We are here in relation to the ongoing membership registration and revalidation exercise scheduled to end in two days’ time, March 31, 2021. It is our firm expectation and demand that the exercise should be extended indefinitely until such a time as it becomes incompatible with the electoral laws and timetable.”

Akpanudoedehe had told THISDAY that the party leadership was under pressure from Kano State, to extend it by one week.