Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Monday received the National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in North Central, Alhaji Muazu Bawa, on a working visit to the state.
Bawa’s visit formed a part of his tour of the North Central States to monitor the ongoing e-registration of the party’s membership.
The Governor, who said the state has recorded a significant success in the exercise, promised that the party will not rest on its oars to rev up the number of new registrants in the coming days.
AbdulRazaq applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his commitment to the party and for championing good governance and economic reforms which he said serve as attractions to new entrants into the party.
He commended the national leaders of the APC for their support and the state executives of the party for their commitment to achieving the target.
“Let me once again welcome the National Vice Chairman for Northern Central to Kwara. You lead us in the zone. What we have achieved so far is due to your effort as well; it was a collective effort,” the Governor said Monday evening.
“I also thank the state APC Chairman and members of the state working committee for doing a good job.
“With 227,000 already registered, we still have more to do and we will achieve more, in spite of network issues.”
He aligned himself with calls on the national leadership of APC for an extension of the window within which people can register.
Governor AbdulRazaq said the party needs to consider making every member a financial member of the party to strengthen commitment and collective ownership, mirroring the realities of party politics in the first republic.
“This exercise is truly a unique one. The NIN requirement will assist in authenticating our registers. We should have done it much earlier so that we didn’t have to rush it now,” he added.
He said the party remains the darling of the people of the state, adding that the administration continues to serve the public.
AbdulRazaq congratulated the party on the new membership, particularly the onboarding of some state governors — a development he attributed to the progress and internal stability within the party.
“The party is waxing stronger by the day because people who understand politics understand that there are stability, progress, and economic foresight within the party. This is an attraction to those who understand what governance and social economic development are all about,” he added.
“I commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating an environment to improve the economy nationally and for his commitment to improve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is also what makes the party attractive to everybody.”
Bawa, for his part, commended the Governor and party officials in the state for their commitment and the success recorded so far, adding that Kwara is currently has the highest number of registrants in the ongoing exercise.
“Your Excellency, today, I am in Ilorin to pay you a courtesy call as part of the activities to monitor the electronic registration of our great party, APC. The essence of the visit is also to interact with the state executive of the party and discuss a way forward,” he said.
“I have received and gone through the report and I am overwhelmed. And the reason for this wonderful outing is because of the seriousness and good governance in the state.
“So far, I have gone to Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Niger and today I am here in Kwara State. But, to be honest, this is the best of all. Kwara is leading. I believe if you are given additional one week, you will surpass the target you set for yourself. On behalf of the National Chairman, I thank Your Excellency for this wonderful outing.”
State APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi and the State Coordinator for the membership e-registration, Mubarak Salau Bello, had earlier updated the guest on the progress made so far and how to strengthen the exercise.
“Within the space of the three weeks that we started this exercise, we have been able to achieve a successful registration of 227,000 members in the state.
By the national time table, we have less than a week to go. But if we have opportunity for two more weeks, I believe we should be getting up to 400,000 members,” Bello said.
