THE online membership registration exercise of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) took off formally with the registration of President Goodluck Jonathan at his residence at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Shortly after performing the online registration exercise as part of the ongoing PDP membership enrolment scheme, President Jonathan hailed the exercise as “a good innovation that will produce an authentic membership database for the party” upon completion.
Earlier at the weekend, irritated by the perceived over-domineering attitude of male members of the PDP, female members protested to the leadership of the party in Abuja, asking it to evolve policies that would give them a sense of belonging.
The registration exercise was witnessed by the Senate President, Senator David Mark, PDP National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Prince Uche Secondus, and presidential aides.
President Jonathan stated that the online membership scheme is aimed at harmonizing the membership database of the party at all levels and would also eliminate controversies that could sometimes trail membership status within the party.
He commended the PDP leadership for the initiative, which he described as “the best thing to have happened to party membership registration in Nigeria, in the 21st Century,” while emphasizing its accessibility and relevance to existing and prospective party members, even in the Diaspora.
He urged party officials and banks that would facilitate the registration exercise to ensure that they penetrate the rural areas where he said the PDP has most of its members, so that all party members in all nooks and crannies of the country will be duly registered.
He also urged party members at all levels to take advantage of the online registration to properly document their membership of the party.
Earlier, Nwodo, said the PDP online membership registration drive would give the party an electronic database of its members which can be accessed on the party’s website. He said the exercise will also generate funds to run the affairs of the party.
Meanwhile at the weekend, female members of the party under the auspices of Forum of Founding Mothers of the PDP led by two former ministers, Bekky Igwe (Women’s Affairs) and Catherine Acholonu (Culture) noted that since the party came to power in 1999, female members have been marginalized.
“The greatest casualties of the new PDP have remained the womenfolk. PDP since the past eight years or more has been operating all over the nation without regard to the welfare and progress of the womenfolk and has actually totally eclipsed its founding mothers many of whom have been driven out of the party or from its mainstream.
“Our women all over the nation are in agony. Most of our members have been impoverished and pauperised by those who have been steering the ship of the party at the national, state and local government levels.
“Party positions and political appointments due to our members by right, by achievement, by merit and by dint of hard work, have been denied us and have been given to women sometimes less qualified than us, picked from outside the rank of those women who birthed this party right from inception and are responsible for its much celebrated growth and success. Thus the culture of mediocrity is being institutionalised in our midst,” they lamented.
Other members of the delegation which delivered the letter to the national secretariat included Hajia Yelwa Sani-Mohammed, Chief (Mrs.) Uju Ozoka, Hon. Habiba Lamido, Hajia Hasana Tarauni, Hajia Amina Abdulamid, Chief (Mrs.) Chika Ibeneme and Barrister (Mrs.) Adedayo Adegboye.
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