The Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN) on Wednesday said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State has no clear leaders as such on-going membership registration and revalidation exercise may lead to chaos, if not well handled.
He enjoined the committee managing the exercise to ensure a balance of all delicate interests in Delta State.
Keyamo alleged plans to hijack the exercise in the state by an unnamed political leader.
The deputy president of the Senate Ovie Omo-Agege hails from the state.
Keyamo raised the alarm in a protest letter dated February 10th, 2021, to the National Chairman of APC Caretaker Committee, Mai Mala Buni, Senator Omo-Agege, chairman of the registration exercise in the state, Austin Wilson Anyaegbu and other top party leaders.
He said there should be no discrimination in the distribution of registration materials in the state.
He said as a Minister, he is not asking for any undue advantage during the registration.
He said: “As you are set to distribute your materials to the LGA coordinators on Wednesday, you must bear in mind the need to balance all the delicate interests within the APC in Delta State in such a way that you don’t put the entire materials meant for any LGA in the hands of two coordinators solely nominated by a particular political leader in the state, including myself.
“That will be unfair, unjust and unacceptable and will be a recipe for chaos in the state. My sources tell me that this is exactly what you plan to do. You need to stop.
“The evolution of APC in Delta State is unique to the extent that a clear Party leader has not emerged under whom everyone have agreed to congregate. At least, no such decision has been taken by stakeholders in Delta State.
“I can say this confidently because I am a founding member and a leader of the Party in the State. The fact that the stakeholders have not been able to do this is a testament to the different tendencies that exists within the Party in the State.
“Whilst we all respect and defer to positions of authority that some of us have been privileged to assume at the national level, political leadership back home is a different ball game.
“As a result of this, all party faithful throng after different leaders in the State.”
Keyamo asked APC registration committee to be fair to all tendencies in the state.
He also said he should not be favoured by the registration committee.
He added:” It is therefore imperative that these different leaders and their supporters have easy access to these materials for registration. This will not happen if you put the materials in any LGA only in the hands of a particular tendency within the party.
“Since we are not using the party structures to drive the process, then you must fall back on these leaders and their nominees to drive the process.
“Even as Minister representing the entire State in the Federal Cabinet, I am not for any undue advantage: I am only asking for fairness and equity to be administered to everyone.
“You are therefore advised to first identify the leaders (like you have done in the last few days). Ensure that no one leader has two nominees in any particular Local Government Area(LGA).
“Also ensure that there is no much disparity between the number of nominees the leaders nominate for the exercise in all the LGAs.”
The Minister asked the Chairman of the Registration Committee in Delta State, Austin Wilson Anyaegbu not to bow to pressure.
He said: “I know that you, like all the members of the committee, were nominated to serve by certain leaders. I also nominated a member.
“It is an open secret. No need to play the ostrich. However, we understand that unwholesome pressure has been mounted on you to sideline all other members of the committee in the discharge of your assignment.
“Perhaps this led to the abrupt resignation of the erstwhile Secretary.
“However, may I respectfully remind you that regardless of who nominated you, is time to serve the Party and not individual interests.
“If you skew the process to favour a particular person/leader, I will be mobilising all other leaders of like minds in the state to reject your committee and call for its total disbandment. I rest my case.”