Deputy President of the ninth Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has charged the Membership Registration Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State to register everyone interested in joining the Party, aggrieved members of other parties, especially Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He gave the charge while revalidating his APC membership on Tuesday at his polling unit at Orogun, his country home, in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

According to him, the electoral success of the party in 2023 can only be guaranteed if unhindered Apc Membership Registration is allowed at the party unit level, where, he said, elections are won and lost, in the state.

Omo-Agege, who arrived his hometown at about 1:00 pm with Delta APC chairman, Prophet Joseph Erueh and other party dignitaries amid fanfare with strict compliance to COVID-19 protocols, reminded party faithful of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment in expanding the scope and strength of the party.

The senator, who is representing Delta Central Senatorial district in the Upper Legislative chamber of the National Assembly, said that the reliableness of the APC leadership and its members is already sending jitters to the spines of the PDP in the state.

“We have a saying that the end of one election is the beginning of another. People are talking about 2023 as if it’s far, it’s tomorrow and everything starts with registration.

“You have to register with this party, to be members of this party, to take sense of ownership of the party. When the party is your own, you can fight for the party with pride.

“The national leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, has determined that we need to grow this party. We need to enhance our coast and we need to grow it from the bottom, up.

“From the bottom level means from the unit level, LGA to the state then the national. When you hear all politics is local, means that all the politics and is here in our unit.”

He added that the commitment of President Buhari to build the party bottom-up is also his commitment and scope, urging interested members of other political parties to register in every polling unit which, he said, would curtail rigging in future polls. 

“You are the owners of the party. It is because of you that PDP’s having sleepless nights today, not because of Omo-Agege. It is because of the calibre of leadership. The leadership and the membership of APC in Delta State across the three Senatorial District.

“The leadership from Abuja had invited me to Asaba, issued me a card, but they decided that they would rather travel all the way to my unit to register me here. So that every member of my unit will also see that this is where everything starts and everything ends; because elections are won and lost. It all starts here.

“This exercise is going to be different. We give you our commitment that we are going to ensure that anybody and everybody who is interested in joining APC would be allowed to register that is my commitment. Nobody would be deprived of registration because we want to expand our coast.

“So, please as we leave here today, join me in that commitment. We want everybody to register in the party so don’t look down on anybody; and if we do that, it will send fear into the hearts of members of PDP,” he affirmed.

Representative of the National Coordinator of the APC Membership Registration Committee, Mr Ismaeel Ahmed in his remark lamented the lack of an APC governor in the South-South, saying such should not repeat itself come 2023. 

He described Omo-Agege as a detribalised senator with capacity to deliver on electoral promises, urging the people to be mobilised for the party registration.

“Senator Omo-Agege has demonstrated political capacity because a lot of people say that PDP is the DNA of Delta which is not true; because he in APC delivered Delta Central and God willing APC will deliver Delta State.

“We are here to celebrate one of our own. We are to transverse Delta and the rest of the South-South and we are going to deliver boldly come 2023.

“If we register as many people in every unit, it means that we will have a presence in every unit; and when you have a presence in every unit, nobody can rig you out,” he affirmed.

Meanwhile, the APC Membership Registration Committee chairman in the state, Hon. Austin Anyegbu, at the event which witnessed a mammoth crowd, has disclosed that the party membership registration would commence February 9 and would run for two weeks.

Member representing Ughelli/Udu Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Francis Waive, and other APC stalwarts both from the state and nation were present at the event.