The All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended its nationwide membership registration and revalidation exercise for another three weeks beginning from April 1.
The ruling party made this known on Thursday in a statement by its interim National Secretary, John Akpanudoedehe.
TheFact Nigeria reports that the extension is coming 24 hours after the forum of states chairmen had appealed to the party leadership to extend the exercise to accommodate more members into the party.
The exercise, which began in January, was originally scheduled to end on March 8, but was extended to March 31 due to setbacks encountered in some of its state chapters.
Akpanudoedehe said there had been requests from members of the party for an extension of time to “capture Nigerians who are still desirous of joining the fold of the progressives.”
He added that the interim administration of the party was doing all it could to ensure the conclusion of the exercise and other activities before its extended tenure.
According him, “The audit of the reports received from the National Membership Registration, Revalidation and Update Committee; the States’ Registration Committees; and that of our Situation Room indicate as follows,”.
“(1) Most states for varied reasons, started late, and require additional time to conclude the exercise.
“(2) An avalanche of applications from critical stakeholders (including all States Caretaker Chairmen) for an extension of time to capture Nigerians who are still desirous of joining the fold of the progressives.
“The Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) under the leadership of His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni had done everything possible to keep to the earlier timeline, however it has become imperative to extend the duration of this very important party activity.
“Consequently, the CECPC has approved the recommendation of the National Committee for the Membership Registration, Revalidation and Update to extend the duration of the exercise for three weeks,” he concluded.
