The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Ajibola Basiru, has disclosed that the ruling party has successfully exceeded 12 million registered members across the country through its digital membership drive, with each registration linked to the National Identity Number as required by law.
Basiru made the disclosure during the inauguration of the distribution of identity cards to members of the Alubarika Movement in Osogbo, Osun State. He said the party deliberately integrated the registration process with the National Identity Number system in order to maintain a credible and verifiable membership database.
According to him, the decision to connect the registration exercise with the NIN was taken at the beginning of the party’s digital membership initiative.
“When the APC started its digital registration, we insisted that it must be linked with the NIN. By the time we closed the registration, we had registered 12 million Nigerians, and the registration is actually closed and linked with the NIN,” Basiru said.
The APC National Secretary used the occasion to urge opposition parties to prepare adequately for upcoming elections rather than complain about the political process. He expressed confidence that the ruling party would secure victory in key contests in Osun State and Ekiti State.
He noted that the Alubarika Movement would play an active role in mobilising support for the party ahead of the elections.
Basiru also called for fairness and transparency in the party’s primary elections, stressing that aspirants should be allowed to compete on equal terms. According to him, a level playing field during the primaries would ensure that whoever emerges as the party’s candidate enjoys the confidence of members.
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“My advice is that the party should create a level playing ground so that there can be a free and fair contest during the primaries,” he said, adding that the process must allow members to choose their preferred candidates without interference.
He further explained that the party’s National Working Committee would decide whether to reopen the digital membership portal for nationwide registration. For now, the portal has only been temporarily reopened in Kano State and Adamawa State.
Basiru said the decision was taken because the registration process in Kano started late, while the governor of Adamawa recently joined the APC, making it necessary to update membership records in the state.
“For now, we have closed registration nationwide. We only opened the portal two days ago for Kano and Adamawa states. The National Working Committee will decide whether to open the portal for universal registration after its meeting,” he said.
The digital registration drive, party officials say, forms part of the APC’s effort to build a reliable membership structure ahead of future elections and strengthen internal party administration.
