A Division Police Officer (DPO) presided over membership registration of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kwara state in contravention of the party guidelines, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, has claimed.
He said this at a press conference in Ilorin on Monday.
Mohammed said the DPO stopped the illegality only when the people mobilized against the use of the police station for registration. He said the atrocity was perpetrated due to the impotence of the APC membership registration committee led by Senator John Danboyi.
He said: “The guidelines are also clear on how registration materials are to be handed over and distributed. Registration materials are to be distributed directly to the Registration Officers, and records of the distribution are to be captured and reported accordingly.
“When the Registration Officials from Abuja landed in Ilorin, they simply handed over the registration materials to an individual, not recognised by the provisions of the guidelines, who has decided to hoard them instead of distributing them to the wards.
“The implication is that the registration is being carried out without Party Membership Register, while temporary membership slips, to be signed and detached from the forms after registration, are not being given to those who have purportedly registered. Since the commencement of the registration, over 80% of the registration units do not have either membership register or membership registration slip. In the few places where they are available, they are kept in private apartments of some political office holders.
“Instead of membership registers, conniving registration officials are using exercise books or foolscap sheets to register members. Even senior Kwara government officials and State House of Assembly members were made to write their details in the exercise books or foolscap sheets, in clear violation of the guidelines.
“Till date, no such member has been given the registration slip. Even senior officials of the State Government, including Special Advisers, as well as House of Assembly members, have had to register using exercise books/foolscap sheets.”