ANRP leader congratulates members over registration

MEMO TO ALL ANRP MEMBERS

By Tope Fasua

On behalf of the entire National Executive Committee of ANRP, I congratulate us all for the feat we have just achieved; obtaining our final approval to carry on as a bona fide political party in Nigeria. Our regulator, the Independent National Electoral Commission, yesterday announced our name alongside 20 other political parties. This is a massive achievement because it begins to give legitimacy and structure to our efforts so far. From henceforth, we have a right to be included in some key national decisions and for our ideas to be mainstreamed in the governance of Nigeria, while we also compete for all the political positions in the land towards achieving a RENEWED NIGERIA.

The work has just begun. No more excuses towards achieving all our set goals. All those who have asked us to come back once we are registered should be immediately re-approached. We should have all the confidence in the world to do so now. The focus remains on mobilization and signing on of new members who believe in our ideals. Please note that we will not play the games of some of the other parties. We have no money to give to voters. What we want are not those who vote because of financial inducements, but those who can belong to our party as members because they understand what we want to achieve and are ready to be part of it. In time, our ideas will percolate to the grassroots and we are sure that there are millions of decent Nigerians who can identify with our ideals in every village and hamlet in Nigeria. We have already converted many of such people.

As you may well know, this party is funded by members’ contribution. We have been a bit quiet on the issue of membership subscriptions because we wanted to obtain this final approval. The time has come to enforce that very important aspect of this party because we must not be vulnerable to outside interference by moneybags. We have done a tremendous work already, as the ONLY PARTY in the history of Nigeria, to be formed from such a very broad base of membership. No other party in Nigeria has been able to boast of 27,500 membership base even before their final approval. All 27,500 plus members should regard ourselves as PIONEER MEMBERS. Congratulations once more!

This is the seed we have sown, because among this number are thousands of highly-motivated Nigerians who will take our message to thousands and millions. The usual thing for most parties is to start looking for members after they have received INEC certificate. We have inverted the process and so we thank you for the patience, perseverance and understanding that you have shown, on our WhatsApp chats and other engagements. We also thank you all for the knowledge we have all propagated and shared on our forums since we started a year ago.

I will crave the indulgence of my fellow National Exco members to announce to you all, that we have since reached a resolution at the National Exco level to reduce annual subscription to only N5,000 for workers, and N1,000 per annum for students. The ID card fee remains N1,000 for everyone. Anyone who has paid for the ID Card should send a digital copy of their passport photograph to membership@anrp.org.ng or contact their nearest officer of the party for advice. We are commencing the issuance of ID cards immediately. Please note that subscriptions do not run the party, but donations do the trick. We have many ambitious projects – including a big National Convention in Abuja hopefully in January 2018 – which will require a lot of resources. We will be embarking on a serious revenue-generation drive. Do note that any of our members who are out of job or business are exempted from these donations but should rather contact the party secretariat for assistance in finding a job by being listed in our database which we have created for such.

Finally, please note that our mobilization drive must not suffer. The party has committed to sponsor all members who intend to contest for councillorship positions. What we require from them is that they get us new members from their communities, who will also vote for them. The trick is for them to start from their FAMILY AND FRIENDS. At ANRP, this data is our currency. Those who intend to contest for higher positions – LG Chairmen, House of Assembly, House of Reps, Senate, State Governorship and so on, should note that they bear a bigger burden to sign on new members. The responsibility grows according to the level of office you aspire to, but members are encouraged to exceed expectations. The ability to sign on new members (with evidence) is going to be a very important consideration during our pre-qualification processes.

Also the job of converting new members should not be limited to those who have political ambitions. Our party is NOT a platform for people to obtain power by winning elections, or for obtaining fame by just appearing on a ballot. What ensures that does not happen is the HARD VISIBLE WORK we put into mobilising new members at this point. This party wants to feature prominently in every election result wherever we contest. We are not a fringe player. In Nigeria today, we are the THIRD FORCE, with every possibility of being the first.

We urge that you continue to uphold our party ethos which stands on these pillars:

1. HONESTY and INTEGRITY

2. TRANSPARENCY

3. RESPECT

4. RESPONSIBILITY

5. LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE

6. PATRIOTISM

Once again, on behalf of the entire National EXCO, I thank you all

Tope Fasua

Protem National Chairman