Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has claimed a sharp rise in its nationwide membership following the launch of an electronic registration platform, saying more than two million people have signed up within a week, even as opposition parties accuse it of laying the foundations for rigging the 2027 elections.
The party’s national secretary, Ajibola Basiru, told journalists in Abuja on Monday that the APC was on course to register between eight and nine million members in the coming days, describing the digital exercise as a major step towards transparency and organisational efficiency.
The adoption of electronic registration was approved last year by the party’s national executive committee, which mandated that all members be digitally identified before the end of January. Basiru said the online platform allows real-time monitoring and accurate verification, insisting it would give the party a clearer picture of its true nationwide strength.
He said the national working committee had been empowered to sanction or replace state coordinators where the exercise was lagging, adding that early figures showed “over two million digitally verified members” already captured with names and voter identification numbers, despite several states yet to fully commence registration.
Basiru urged party stakeholders across the country to take the process seriously, describing it as central to building what he called an “organic” party capable of mobilising Nigerians behind President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.
The APC’s national chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, has also warned state coordinators that failure to register all members would attract sanctions, stressing that the role was not ceremonial. At a meeting in Abuja, he reminded party officials that elections are won at the grassroots, not at the national secretariat, and cautioned against inflated membership figures that fail to translate into votes.
According to the party, Delta State is currently leading the registration drive, followed by Lagos, Kebbi, Adamawa and Plateau. In Benue, Governor Hyacinth Alia registered as the first member in the state, receiving membership number 001 and urging ward leaders to mobilise widely while avoiding actions that could distort the exercise.
But the opposition has reacted with scepticism. The Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) warned that the registration claims were part of a broader strategy to justify manipulated figures in future elections.
The acting national chairman of the Labour Party, Nenadi Usman, said the numbers being announced by the APC should be closely scrutinised, arguing that electoral fraud often begins long before polling day. Through her media adviser, she dismissed claims that millions could be registered within weeks, describing them as implausible and dangerous.
Similarly, the NNPP’s publicity secretary, Ladipo Johnson, brushed aside the APC’s assertions as familiar propaganda, noting that previous membership drives had not translated into electoral success. He said Nigerians were increasingly sceptical of such exercises and unlikely to be swayed by headline figures.
With the 2027 general election still some distance away, the sharp exchanges underline rising political tension, as the APC celebrates what it calls unprecedented growth and the opposition frames the same process as an early warning sign of electoral manipulation.
