Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has called on stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in the state to work for peace and inclusion as the party is set to participate in the nationwide membership registration and revalidation exercise which begins on February 9.
The governor spoke on Friday in Ilorin at the stakeholders’ meeting after a violent clash between two factions of the party on Wednesday.
The violence erupted at the banquet hall of Kwara Government House where the APC registration and revalidation committee called a meeting to ensure smooth registration exercise amid the protracted crisis in the party in Kwara which worsened after the removal of Bashir Bolarinwa as the party chairman.
AbdulRazaq apologised to Senator John Danboi-led committee over the incident, saying “that is definitely not who we are”.
He appealed to all contending interests to rally behind the committee for a hitch-free exercise.
“I will like to apologise to Senator John Danboi and his team for the ugly incident that happened two days ago. It is not in our nature. It is not in our character. We are a peaceful and harmonious people,” he said.
“We, under the direction of the president, are to increase the membership base of the party. If we were 100,000 in the state before, we want to get to 300,000. During the last general election, we won 75% of the votes in the state with only about 100,000 members of the party. We now want to increase the base of the party in the state. People are now being convinced about what we do.”
Danboi, on his part, said the stakeholders’ meeting was meant to update leaders of the party on the modalities for the exercise.
“As stakeholders, you need to bring your people out and support them to be able to register. This is the time to canvas for that person that you think are interested in joining the party,” he said.
