Register Every Member Or Be Removed, Ruling Party Chairman Tells Coordinators

National chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has directed all coordinators of the ongoing nationwide electronic membership registration across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to ensure that no member is left unregistered.

He warned that any coordinator who fails in this responsibility will be replaced.

The national chairman, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, made available to journalists in Lagos, issued this directive after meeting with all the State Registration Coordinators at the National Secretariat of the APC in Abuja.

He stated that all the State Organising Secretaries of the party at the state level are the coordinators of the exercise, except where any of them were not trained for the exercise.

The ongoing registration exercise is scheduled to end on January 30, 2026.

According to the APC Chairman, the position of Coordinator is not ceremonial but a responsibility to strengthen the party.

“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.

Professor Yilwatda reminded the Coordinators that they are the foot soldiers of the party, stressing that when party structures at the state level are strong and functional, the party itself becomes strong.

He also charged state party chairmen to cooperate fully with the Coordinators to ensure a seamless and successful exercise.

“Nobody contests elections at the National Secretariat. Elections are won or lost at the state, senatorial, constituency, local government and ward levels. The performance of the party rests squarely on you,” he stated.

The Chairman warned against a situation where the party claims millions of members in a state but records very low votes during elections, describing such discrepancies as unacceptable going forward. He disclosed that the National Executive Committee (NEC) has created a conducive environment to ensure the success of all party programmes and insisted that party structures at all levels must begin to reflect real membership strength.

He further warned that any State Executive Committee member who fails to register before January 30, 2026, will be removed from office, stressing that NEC, the second-highest organ of the party after the Convention, has the constitutional authority to enforce compliance.

He implored all the State Chairmen to support the drive of this registration exercise. It is not negotiable. This warning must be sounded from the state level down to the ward level,” he said.

Professor Yilwatda also condemned sharp practices aimed at blocking or excluding party members from the registration process.

“No Chairman, no Coordinator, and not even a Governor has the power to stop any party member from being registered. No one must be disenfranchised,” he warned.

To ensure speed and efficiency, the Chairman directed Coordinators to use Android phones where tablets are unavailable, stressing that no state should delay the exercise waiting for devices.

He urged Coordinators to avoid making the exercise unnecessarily expensive for state governments and disclosed that in his own state, registration officials were recruited from within their wards to ease logistics.

Giving an update on progress, Professor Yilwatda revealed that Delta State is currently leading, followed by Lagos, Kebbi, Adamawa and Plateau States, and encouraged other states to emulate their pace and commitment.

He announced that he would review the progress in five days.

The APC Chairman also linked the electronic registration to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ongoing reforms, stressing that the party must reflect the same spirit of modernisation and accountability.

“We need accurate data to support the President. We must be different from all other parties. We cannot make decisions on faulty premises. This registration must succeed,” he said.

He explained that the electronic registration, the first of its kind by any political party in Nigeria, will provide the APC with a credible, verifiable, and real-time membership database, enhance internal democracy, improve campaign planning, eliminate fraud, and ensure that party resources are deployed based on real and reliable data.

In their response, the Coordinators commended Professor Yilwatda for his leadership and the progress recorded under his tenure, pledging their full commitment to the exercise’s success.