By: Felix Ikpotor
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has set a target of over five million new members in its ongoing e-registration exercise.
State chairman of the party, Chief Tony Okocha stated this during the flag-off of the exercise and training of local council supervisors and ward agents held at the party secretariat in Port Harcourt.
He said although Rivers State is starting the exercise late, but charged the supervisors to double-up efforts and ensure that the party exceeds all other states before the end of January when the exercise ends.
”This registration is not the one you stay in your house and send anyone, everything about you as data will be displayed, so there is nothing like you registered ghosts names or not.
”So it has started. Some states have done over 300,000 as we speak because they started much more earlier, but we are sure that in no time we will be leading the others who started before us because we know that people like you are the people that will take the centre stage. Rivers State has a population of over 6 million so the earlier you start the better, ” Okocha said.
Okocha explained that the reason for the e-registration of members is to eliminate fake registration and other sharp practices from the registration process.
He noted that despite the party registering over twelve million voters in 2023, it did not reflect during the elections, hence the adoption of e-registration to be sure that everybody on board are real humans and party members.
”In 2023, APC was boasting of having registered more than 12 million voters or members and unfortunately, that number appeared very bogus because it did not reflect in 2023 general elections and so the party became very apprehensive and not very sure anymore that we actually registered or have that number as members of our party, ” he added.
The party chairman charged the supervisors and agents to be very strict in carrying out the exercise. He also charged them not to discriminate against anyone wishing to be part of the party.
”I say to you please take this assignment as if it’s your personal assignment. Take it as seriously as that and ensure the areas within your precinct that you deliver them, ensuring that everybody is onboarded.
”The instruction from the party is that you should not restrict anybody who comes to you, who wishes to be part of APC,” he emphasized.
Okocha used the occasion to reassure members that the party is still very strong in the state.
Also speaking, State Secretary of the party, Chief Eric Nwibani said the exercise is to ensure that Rivers State takes its rightful place in the comity of states in the country. He said the target is that at the end of the exercise, Rivers should be able to beat Kano State in numbers.
”What we are here to do is to ensure that Rivers State takes its rightful place in the commity of states in Nigeria. After Lagos and Kano, in this exercise, we expect that if we cannot overtake Lagos we should overtake Kano.
”What we expect is that we’d take the exercise very seriously. We have 319 registration areas (wards) and 6866 polling units in Rivers State. If we register even if 100 person per polling unit, we’d have exceeded even the 6 million, ” he added.
On his part, State Coordinator of E-registration Hands-on Device Application Train-the Trainer Exercise of the APC, Silva Sanwi said the party is collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that every data captured is authentic and to ensure a seamless registration process.
