In a bid to profit on the continued split in the
ranks of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the South West, the All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP) in the region is embarking on a new membership drive.
Sources revealed that some top members of the party
have started approaching top South West politicians who may not be happy with
the crises-prone AD as well as former members of the party who were disgruntled
and have been aloof from the party because of the leadership crisis that rocked
the party before the present executive took over its administration.
The party, sources revealed, has moved its South West
office, which was moved to Ibadan from its original location in Lagos, back to
occupy the same building with the state office at Ilupeju.
But speaking with Daily Independent in Lagos, the Lagos State Chairman
of the party, Alhaji Jamiu Egbodoku, who denied that the new initiative was
driven by the problem in AD, said that it was a fallout of a new programme of
the party.
“We have a programme, no doubt, in which we are
visiting former chieftains of our party who as a result of the past image of
the party kept their distance. It was a proposal that I made to the national
vice chairman (South West) of the party, which he has approved for the whole of
the zone,” he told Daily Independent.
Egbodoku said that the programme would be at two
levels. The first level will be to approach stalwarts who can join the current
leaders in the funding of the party, which will enable the party embark on the
second face, which will be a mass grassroots drive for membership.
“We believe it is very clear now that those who go to
parties in government are not politicians. They are just hungry contractors who
want a piece of the ruling party’s action. So, we want to build our party
to its rightful position in the South West,” he said.
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