By Efe Idouzee
As Edo State politicians jostle in preparation for the governorship race, one of the frontline aspirants in the state, Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu has dismissed claims that he is not a registered member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. He said those disputing his membership are only engaging in a fruitless exercise.
Ize-Iyamu was reacting to a statement in which some persons claiming to be chairmen of the 18 local government areas in the state challenged his membership in the party for falling short of the party’s constitutional requirement.
A statement signed by Mr. John Mayaki, director, communication and media of the Pastor Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organisation, read:
“Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu was one of those who not only formed the APC but drafted the constitution of the APC. It is quite unfortunate that many of these people don’t read;they have not sat down to even read the APC constitution.”
Mayaki stated that the APC constitution took into consideration need to make membership easy to access.
“The APC apart from being a progressive party was deliberately formed to be a mass organization and one of the things those who drafted the APC constitution (including Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu) did was to make it easy for Nigerians, irrespective of who they are, to be able to join the party like the APC without people like these renegades trying to put hurdles in their way-politics is a game of numbers. Ideally, you would want to welcome people to your party”.
According to him, in line with this goal, there are provisions for ward or online registration.
“If you look at the constitution of the APC, Article 9, you will find out that unknown to them, you can go to your ward and register or you can even do online registration. The essence of this is to ensure that nobody is deprived”
Firing a shot at the governor, the Ize-Iyamu image maker asked how Obaseki who was not there when the party was formed stop a foundation member.
“When Pastor Ize-Iyamu among others were putting the party together, the governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki was not there and nowhere to be found. So, how do you expect a man who should be a beneficiary of a house that he helped to build be stopped from gaining access into the house?
“Knowing the rules, Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu went to his ward chairman, Mr. Ogbebor in Ugboko ward in Orhiomwon to say himself among his teaming followers were coming back home and he was given the party card. The party chairman brought him a party card and the day he was declaring, he raised up his card and said, ‘Gentlemen , what am doing is just a mere ceremony’ but the truth about it is that he has actually gone to his ward to register. He openly tendered his party card and they were shocked.
“What these people don’t understand is that in the APC constitution, there is even an alternative-the online option and so, Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu applied-nobody can quarrel with the online registration; he has the slip, the registration number; his name is on the portal of the party.
He said Ize-Iyamu can go ahead even without the registration card having duly registered online. “Again, unknown to these renegades, Pastor OsagieIze-iyamu does not really need to rely on that card because with his online registration, nobody can challenge his membership of the party.”