THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed strong concern over the sluggish pace of its ongoing e-membership registration, revealing that several states have barely begun the exercise.
The party urged state chairmen to take full responsibility for driving the digital registration process across their jurisdictions.
Speaking at the APC e-Membership Registration Train-the-Trainers Workshop for state and FCT party chairmen in Abuja, the National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, said only a handful of states have made significant progress so far.
He noted that many others have recorded extremely low numbers.
“Up till now, there are states that have not even done anything. It is only those sent to represent the senatorial districts who have so far registered,” Argungu said.
He added that the national secretariat is monitoring registration figures daily in all states.
He disclosed major disparities across the federation: Delta State currently leads with 296,508 registered members, while states such as Edo and Cross River have only nine each.
Nasarawa and the FCT have five apiece, Ogun has 292, Osun eight, Imo three, and Enugu none. Oyo State has registered just 93 members.
Argungu stressed that only individuals with valid INEC voter cards should be registered, saying this ensures that members are eligible both to vote and to contest for party positions.
He also noted that more than five million members have been validated so far, describing the exercise as part of the party’s renewed commitment to accountability under President Bola Tinubu and APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.
According to him, the digital system is designed to correct longstanding inaccuracies. “In the past, we have had to work with wrong figures that didn’t tally with the party membership register. This reform reflects our collective commitment to modernisation, inclusivity, and organisational excellence.”
Speaking at the workshop, APC National Secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru reminded attendees that the party previously claimed a membership of 45 million—a figure he said was fabricated.
He noted that the 2023 general elections exposed the falsification, as the APC presidential candidate received fewer than 10 million votes.
“If we have 45 million members, how come we went to the poll and got less than 10 million votes?” Basiru asked. He blamed the exaggerated figures on internal conflicts and the “weaponisation” of the party register.
He explained that the new biometric-based system, which requires members’ National Identification Numbers (NIN), is intended to restore credibility to the APC’s internal database.
Former APC National Chairman Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje also backed the reforms, noting that biometric requirements would ensure that all data matches the details associated with each member’s NIN.
He said the new register would serve as a critical tool for planning and for vetting members seeking public appointments or contesting elections.
The APC’s digital registration exercise, now transitioning to the state implementation stage, is expected to strengthen the ruling party’s structure and improve its organisational reliability ahead of the 2027 general elections.