Israel Oluyemi
Opposition parties have questioned whether the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s renewed membership registration will translate into greater electoral support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) and Labour Party (LP) challenged the significance of membership figures while highlighting their own approaches to digital registration.
ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the size of a party’s membership register does not necessarily determine the number of votes it will receive during an election.
“It’s not only party members who vote. How the APC manages its membership is its problem,” Abdullahi said.
He cautioned the APC against using its membership figures as a measure of electoral strength, noting that registered members do not automatically become voters for the party.
“They may soon come out to tell you that they have 50 million registered members,” he added.
Abdullahi made the remarks after the APC announced that it would reopen its nationwide electronic membership registration on Monday, August 31, 2026.
The ruling party suspended the registration exercise on February 8, 2026, ahead of its congresses and elective national convention.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the renewed exercise would allow existing members to validate their details and enable new and intending members to join the party.
“Existing members are expected to validate their membership, while new and intending members are encouraged to register and join the progressive family,” Morka said.
He said applicants must be at least 18 years old and possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN).
Morka said the exercise would digitise the party’s membership register, improve the integrity of its records and support planning, internal democracy and party management.
The NDC also questioned the significance of the APC’s decision by contrasting it with its own continuous digital registration process.
NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the party had never suspended its digital registration exercise except when it needed to submit its register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“At the NDC, we are a digital party from day one. We never suspended our digital registration exercise,” Director said.
“The only period we halted it was when we had to submit our digital register to INEC. Therefore, our registration exercise is a continuous one,” he added.
The Labour Party similarly said its electronic membership registration has remained open since it launched the exercise.
LP National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said the party submitted its register to INEC before its primaries in compliance with the Electoral Act but kept its online registration portal active.
“Our e-registration process is still ongoing. People are still registering even as of today,” Asogwa said.
He added that the Labour Party was targeting a wider group of Nigerians beyond registered members, including people who identify with its political philosophy but do not want formal partisan affiliation.
The different positions from the parties have placed the focus on whether membership registration can serve as a reliable measure of electoral strength ahead of the 2027 elections.
While the APC seeks to update and expand its membership database, its political rivals argue that the size of a party register alone cannot determine how Nigerians will vote at the polls.
