PDP’ll Survive E-Registration Hurdle–Dokpesi
The Peoples Democratic Party has promised to overcome the challenges being experienced in its ongoing e-registration exercise aimed towards rebranding and strengthening its membership base across the country.
The Chairman of the PDP e-Membership Registration Committee, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, disclosed this in an interview with journalists, shortly after an assessment tour of Auchi, Owan and Akoko-Edo areas of Edo State.
He explained that while
about 3,870 persons had been registered in the pilot phase of the
project which kicked off on September 7 in the Edo-North senatorial
district, the situation was different in some local government areas
which had yet to embrace the project.
Dokpesi said, “I sincerely believe that in Etsako-East, the Weppa-Wanno wards did extremely well. Ward 1 has about 2,500 PDP members; Ward 2 has about 1,120, Ward 3 has about 1,000 and Ward 4 has about 750 members.
“The story is quite different in other local government areas and, here, we quite clearly see the hands and the influence of the leaders of the party who had expressed a lot of resentment and disagreement about the possible success of the biometric registration. They want the status quo ante to remain as they have not been quite open to proper registration.
“In these areas, we have registered voters of between 200 and 500 in the wards. But we have had strong members who moved out of the PDP and whom the actors of the PDP have refused registration, which is contrary to the directive of the National Working Committee.”
He, however, called on members of the party in the state to take advantage of the exercise, which he said would be concluded in two weeks, before moving to other states.
“But, it is a pilot programme. I think what we are supposed to do is to draw lessons from what has happened and draw appropriate conclusions from it,” he added.
Earlier, the Benue State Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, had assured stakeholders that the project would eliminate ghost membership in the party.
Copyright PUNCH.
Dokpesi said, “I sincerely believe that in Etsako-East, the Weppa-Wanno wards did extremely well. Ward 1 has about 2,500 PDP members; Ward 2 has about 1,120, Ward 3 has about 1,000 and Ward 4 has about 750 members.
“The story is quite different in other local government areas and, here, we quite clearly see the hands and the influence of the leaders of the party who had expressed a lot of resentment and disagreement about the possible success of the biometric registration. They want the status quo ante to remain as they have not been quite open to proper registration.
“In these areas, we have registered voters of between 200 and 500 in the wards. But we have had strong members who moved out of the PDP and whom the actors of the PDP have refused registration, which is contrary to the directive of the National Working Committee.”
He, however, called on members of the party in the state to take advantage of the exercise, which he said would be concluded in two weeks, before moving to other states.
“But, it is a pilot programme. I think what we are supposed to do is to draw lessons from what has happened and draw appropriate conclusions from it,” he added.
Earlier, the Benue State Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, had assured stakeholders that the project would eliminate ghost membership in the party.
Copyright PUNCH.
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