The All Progressives Congress, APC, has stated that it is targeting over 20 million registered members nationwide, as its ongoing electronic membership registration approaches 12 million entries.
National Chairman of the party, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, disclosed this on TVC on Sunday while responding to concerns that the party’s earlier 12.5 million membership projection was too ambitious.
According to Yilwatda, the APC has already crossed the 11 million mark and is steadily closing in on 12 million registered members, stressing that the party has no plans to halt the registration exercise.
“We are targeting over 20 million members. Already, we have crossed 11 million, and we are closing in on 12 million. We are not closing our registration,” he said.
The APC chairman explained that while the party would print its membership register to meet timelines ahead of its convention and submission to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), membership registration itself remains a continuous process.
“Membership registration is a continuous process,” the APC chairman said. “What we are doing is to print our register so we can meet the timeline to update and submit to INEC before our convention.”
Yilwatda highlighted that the e-registration system captures detailed personal data of members, including National Identity Numbers, addresses, wards, polling units, and local government areas, ensuring transparency and eliminating allegations of non-Nigerians being registered.
“Today, we have the identity number of all our members,” he said. “Nobody can claim that we brought people from Niger, Chad, or anywhere else. They are all Nigerians, known, identified, and tied to their polling units and wards.”
He said the comprehensive database would strengthen grassroots mobilization, campaign planning, internal research, and electoral strategy, noting that candidates could potentially win elections using only verified party members in certain wards.
“If you are contesting in a ward, we can pull our members there, give you their contacts and addresses, and you can reach them directly,” Yilwatda said. “In some places, you can win an election with only our members. That is our target.”
The APC chairman added that the digital register would also enable the party to conduct policy research and political analysis across wards, local governments, states, and zones without physical fieldwork.
