The national chairman of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, has warned that state coordinators overseeing the party’s electronic membership registration will be replaced if they fail to ensure that all members are registered before the January 30 deadline.
Addressing state registration coordinators at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, Yilwatda said the exercise was non-negotiable and central to strengthening the party’s structure ahead of future elections.
Under the arrangement, state organising secretaries are serving as coordinators of the exercise, except in states where they were not trained for the task.
The chairman said the role of coordinator was a position of responsibility rather than status, adding that poor performance would not be tolerated.
“If any coordinator does not get all members registered in his or her state, we will drop you and appoint another person. The position you occupy is an opportunity to make the party better,” he said.
Yilwatda described the coordinators as the “foot soldiers” of the party, arguing that the strength of the APC depended on effective structures at state, local government and ward levels.
“Nobody contests elections at the national secretariat. Elections are won or lost at the grassroots. The performance of the party rests squarely on you,” he added.
He cautioned against discrepancies between claimed membership figures and actual votes recorded during elections, saying such gaps would no longer be acceptable.
According to him, the National Executive Committee (NEC) had created an enabling environment for party programmes and expected party structures to reflect real membership strength.
The chairman also warned that any member of a state executive committee who fails to register before January 30 would be removed from office, saying that the NEC has the constitutional authority to enforce compliance.
He urged state party chairmen to support the exercise fully, insisting that no individual, including governors, had the power to block or exclude any party member from being registered.
“No one must be disenfranchised,” he said, while condemning what he described as sharp practices aimed at frustrating the process.
To prevent delays, Yilwatda directed coordinators to use Android phones where tablets were unavailable, stressing that no state should suspend the exercise while waiting for equipment.
He also advised against inflating costs for state governments, citing his own state where registration officials were drawn from within wards to ease logistics.
Providing an update, he said Delta State was currently leading the exercise, followed by Lagos, Kebbi, Adamawa and Plateau, and urged other states to improve their pace, stressing that progress would be reviewed again within five days.
The APC chairman linked the electronic registration drive to President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, saying the party must reflect the same emphasis on modernisation and accountability.
“We need accurate data to support the President. We cannot make decisions on faulty premises. This registration must succeed,” he said.
He said the initiative, described as the first electronic membership registration by a political party in Nigeria, would provide a verifiable, real-time database, strengthen internal democracy, improve campaign planning and reduce fraud.
In their response, the state coordinators commended Yilwatda’s leadership and pledged to deliver a successful exercise before the deadline, saying party structures across the country would be revitalised within the next two weeks.
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