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The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday approved waivers for those who just joined or may be planning to join the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The waivers enable the affected persons to contest elective positions on the party’s platform without waiting for a particular number of years.
Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the committee’s meeting.
He said: “The second resolution is that NEC has approved the granting of waivers to persons who have recently joined the party and those desirous of joining the party in the nearest future.
“By this, such new members will enjoy all the benefits and privileges accruable by virtue of their membership of the party.
“So, they will be able to contest for positions in the party. They will be able to contest elections without any requirement of being members for a number of years or period of time.”
Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, recently joined the party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has also returned to the party from PDP.
El-Rufai also said the NEC has dissolved all states, zonal, and national party structures.
Earlier in his opening remarks, President Muhammad Buhari said: “I want to appeal to all our party members and leaders at all levels, to try and make the required sacrifices so that we are able to collectively restore our progressive and democratic political party, which can nurture and give expression to our collective dream of building a strong, united and developed Nigeria.
“May I use this opportunity to remind all of us of the need to recreate our negotiation secret of 2012, 2013 under our legacy parties. What guided our success to achieve the merger that produced the APC was the respect we were able to have for each other.
“In those times, decisions reached at both formal and informal consultations were respected with trusted initiatives taken and believed that they were needed to produce the required political platform that could guarantee electoral victory.
“Everyone of us as leaders ensured that those decisions were respected. I have through consultations with the caretaker committee and other leaders of the party, agree that our challenges in the party require that we take steps to rebuild the party from wards to national levels.
“The initiative to carry out membership registration revalidation is, therefore, a necessary, membership registration revalidation will lay the foundation for reorganising our membership from ward to local government, state, and national levels.
“The responsibility of our party’s NEC at this meeting is to adopt and dispassionately consider all proposals submitted by the caretaker committee and grant all the necessary approvals requested to rebuild the party.”