By Abiola Olawale
Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has alleged that murderers and killers are taking opportunity of the ongoing membership registration and revalidation exercise of All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the ruling party.
Following the recent influx of individuals to the ruling party from the opposition, the former Governor of Osun State alleged that criminals are also participating in the ongoing APC registration exercise.
Aregbesola raised this alarm while addressing his supporters in Ilesha, Osun State after he revalidated his APC membership at Ward 8 in Ifofin, in Ilesa East Local Government.
Although, the minister failed to mention names of the alleged criminals, he appealed to the members of the party to ensure that such elements do not hijack leadership position of the party.
According to the Minister, the party cannot stop the alleged criminals from joining the party since no court has convicted them as murderers.
Though Aregbesola came short of mentioning names, but his line of comments and the language through which he conveyed suggest he may have directed a wild attack at Senator Iyiola Omisore, who recently joined the APC from the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In his words, “We are doing this registration and revalidation exercise so that it will be easy for us to choose those that will lead and be the candidate of our party. No room for a lopsided candidate again in APC. We have registered killer and murderer in our party. Our party’s law cannot reject a killer when the court has not pronounced such a person as a killer. But we know killer, thief and rascal in our midst. When the time comes we will boycott such person. We can’t allow anybody to take advantage of Bola Ige’s death as a means to take a leadership position. Anyone that attempted it shall never be great. Bola Ige is our father! Anybody who disrespects and despise Bola Ige is my enemy. Anytime that we want to choose a candidate here, we will consider name, character, act and those who you moved with before we choose our leader. Chief Bola Ige was our leader and stood all his life for a compassionate government, commitment to the good of the majority and ideas that would bring the good life, happiness, progress and security to the people.”
