On APC’s membership drive

By Lawal Adamu Usman

 

SIR: The ruling APC has started fresh membership registration and revalidation exercise with the president, Muhammadu Buhari, travelling to his home town in Daura, along-side 10 governors and top party men include the senate president, Ahmed Lawan.

The ruling APC like any other political party is free, based on its constitution, to register new members and revalidate the existing ones. However, the exercise could not but receive knocks from Nigerians and other political parties who viewed and described the whole exercise as a distraction and a waste of resources.

The exercise is certainly coming at a wrong time. This is a time that Nigerians are grappling with worsening insecurity and economic hardship. Besides, President Buhari recently signed the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Health Protection Regulations 2021 as part of efforts to boost the COVID-19 response in the country. The regulation sets out in great detail, what Nigerians are expected to do, such as social distancing, wearing of face masks etc. and the penalties for violators of the protocols.

In the guidelines, any person that contravened provisions of the regulations commits, upon conviction, risked a fine or a term of six months imprisonment or both in accordance with Section 5 of the Quarantine Act.

It would seem that prospective APC members and existing members who will go for the exercise are not necessarily bound by the regulation. One imagines that the registration centres will soon become a beehive of activities with the consequences in spiking new cases of the covid-19 in the country.

The APC should have used this period for introspection and self-appraisal to find out the areas it performed below expectations and to make amend. The voices emanating from Nigerians craving for social, economic and political reforms are becoming louder by the day. All across the country, the situation of insecurity is getting worse.

Or is the ruling party more concerned about boosting of membership drive and how to win the next general election than protecting the lives of Nigerians?

Truth be told, the timing of the exercise is not convenient. The registration comes at a time when the failures of the ruling party are emerging every passing day. Instead of the wasteful and frivolous spending in the name of party registration, APC should fulfil its campaign promises to Nigerians. The party promised security, fighting corruption and fixing the economy. Have these promises been fulfilled?

My view is that it has not.

• Lawal Adamu Usman,Kaduna State.