Ayorinde Oluokun with agency report
Two All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftains in Edo, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, renewed and revalidate their membership of the ruling party on Saturday in spite of opposition and accusation of anti-party activities.
Some leaders of the APC in Ward 2 of Oredo Local Government Area where the two elder statesmen belonged to said they are no longer members of the party as the process of expelling them is ongoing.
‘I don’t see those two people as APC members. They were members of the APC before they betrayed the party,” the Legal Adviser of the party in the local government, Johnson Osemwegie Elamah, said while reacting to the revalidation of the duo’s membership of the party.
“We are suspending both Chief Odigie-Oyegun and Dr. Ehanire from the APC through the ward executives. They’re already working on it. They’re no longer members of the APC. What have they contributed to the party? Let them tell us,” he added.
Elemah also noted that Oyegun’s revalidation of his APC membership was invalid as he registered in Ward 2 unit 1.
“But instead of him going to Ward 2 unit 2 he went to unit 1. The implication is that he did an invalid registration.’
Also commenting on Chief Oyegun’s revalidation of his membership, the Vice-Chairman of APC Ward 2 of Oredo, Prince Blessing Edigin, said he was surprised that Oyegun went to register at unit 1 which is against the rules and regulations of APC.
Also, Evelyn Iyamu, the APC Ward 2 unit 2 head, re-echoed Elemah’s statement, saying that Chief Oyegun does not know her and have never met her.
But Ehanire and Oyegun expressed confidence in the revalidation exercise shortly after revalidating their membership of the party in his Oredo ward 2.
While asserting that contrary to insinuations, they were still member of the party, Oyegun said that they were members of the merger committee that brought the APC to life when the negotiation took place to merge three political parties.
He, therefore, said that in view of this, they were among the oldest members of the party.
“Chief Oyegun and myself were members of the merger committee that brought the APC to life when the negotiation took place to join three political parties.
“We were there at the inception at the birth of APC.
“Therefore, we are among the oldest members here because we were at the ward when it was born at the maternity.
“Now that it is being revalidated, we are very pleased to be here to do the revalidation together.
“So, it is a very joyful moment. And I believe this should be the beginning of the renewal of the party in Edo and in Nigeria,” he said.
Similarly, Oyegun said: “We want to know who is APC so that as we move forward, everybody who registers during this period would be reconfirmed, dedicated and passionate members of the APC.”
Retired Col. David Imuse, Chairman of the caretaker committee of the party, said the revalidation exercise showed that the party was moving forward.