APC denies buying voters card in Anambra

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has denied the allegation by the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, that it was buying off voters cards from people who were persuaded to register with the party in the ongoing membership registration exercise in Anambra State.


APGA, through the state-owned Anambra Broadcasting Service, ABS, has been warning the people of the state not to allow themselves to be disenfranchised by a political party, which it said, was asking people to submit their voters’ cards after registration.

But secretary of the Anambra State APC Continuing Registration Committee, Mr. Ford Ozumba, dismissed the allegation, saying it is neither here nor there. He said the committee’s specific mandate was to register new members and revalidate the membership of the old members and not to buy voters cards. APC He said: “We are only here for the registration of new members, which is also taking place in other states and there are no such allegations in those states. The provision in the registration form requires identification of the would –be members and one could identify himself or herself with either the national ID card, driving licence or the voters’ card.

“There is, therefore, no reason for us to buy the voters cards. We don’t even have money to buy people’s cards and this kind of rumour is not good for the development of democracy.”

Ozumba defended the decision of the committee members to register some stakeholders in their homes rather than at the public square where the exercise was taking place, adding that most of such stakeholders only had time for the exercise after their day’s work. He also described the exercise as very successful, noting that there was so much enthusiasm among the people of Anambra State to identify with APC.

He also reminded the people that the registration exercise had nothing to do with the party’s primaries as erroneously believed by some people, explaining that though they would be in the state for only few weeks, the exercise would continue at the wards for those who did not register within this period.