APC registers 2m members in one week, targets 9m by next week

ABUJA: The All Progressives Congress APC has disclosed that more than two million Nigerians have been digitally registered and verified as members of the party within one week of the commencement of its nationwide membership registration and revalidation exercise.

It expressed confidence that the figure could rise to between eight and nine million by next week.

National Secretary of the party, Senator Ajibola Basiru, who addressed journalists after Monday’s meeting of the National Working Committee NWC on Monday in Abuja, said the rapid uptake underscored the seriousness with which party stakeholders were approaching the assignment and the effectiveness of the new digital registration platform.

Basiru explained that the meeting, presided over by the National Chairman of the party, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, reviewed the progress of the exercise and reinforced the directive of the National Executive Committee NEC mandating that all APC members be digitally identified before the end of January.

According to him, data-driven membership was critical to the operational efficiency of a modern political party, adding that the NEC, which he described as the second most powerful organ of the party, had given clear instructions for the exercise to be conducted properly and timeously.

He said; “As of today, just a week into the exercise, with many states yet to even start fully, Nigerians who are registered members of the APC are already in excess of two million, digitally verified, with their names and voter identification numbers captured. When we make another assessment next week, we should be in the region of about eight or nine million members, by the grace of God.”

Basiru said the digital nature of the exercise allows the party to assess data in real time, enhances transparency and integrity, and eliminates multiple or fictitious registrations, stressing that registration is impossible without verifiable personal details linked to a phone number and voter identification number.

He added that the platform also captures demographic details such as age, gender and occupation, which would strengthen planning, mobilisation and internal party democracy.

Basiru noted that the NWC had been empowered to take corrective measures, including replacing state coordinators, where the exercise was found to be lagging, adding that challenges identified in some states had been addressed and that further interventions would be made where necessary.

He commended party stakeholders at the state and ward levels for committing time, energy and resources to ensure the success of the exercise, describing the registration drive as foundational to building what he called an “organic party” capable of mobilizing Nigerians in support of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.

Responding to concerns about accessibility, Basiru said registration teams had been deployed in all political wards across the country, with several personnel assigned per ward depending on size, to ensure grassroots participation.

He added that in areas affected by insecurity or poor internet connectivity, particularly parts of the North East, members would be registered manually, with data uploaded later in locations with network access, to ensure that no member was disenfranchised.

He dismissed fears about factional exclusion, insisting that the party’s leadership had made it clear that no group or tendency would be denied the opportunity to register, explaining that the exercise was strictly about membership and not about legitimising or disqualifying any faction.

He also declined to provide a state-by-state breakdown of the registration figures, describing such details as internal party data, while maintaining that the APC remained a pan-Nigerian party with strong presence across all regions of the country.

Culled from vanguard