By Nkechi Eze
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has cited its estimated 13 million registered members and more than 7,000 aspirants who contested for various elective positions on its platform as evidence of its growing political strength and organisational capacity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The National Chairman of the party, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, disclosed this while receiving a pre-election fact-finding mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, Victor Bockarie Foh, at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
According to an official statement signed by Abimbola Tooki, Special Adviser to the National Chairman on Media and Information Strategy, Yilwatda said the APC had built an extensive nationwide political structure supported by a verifiable membership database, grassroots networks and elected representatives.
He disclosed that the party had approximately 13 million registered members spread across all local government areas in Nigeria, with membership records and identity cards designed to facilitate verification through National Identification Numbers (NIN) and voter identification details.
The APC chairman also revealed that the party maintained more than 261,000 executive members across its organisational hierarchy, from the ward level through local governments and states to the national level.
“Our party is the largest political party in Nigeria. In terms of structure, organisation and membership, no other political party comes close to us. We are approximately three times larger than the next political party in the country,” Yilwatda said.
On the party’s primary elections, he disclosed that more than 7,000 aspirants contested for various positions, describing the development as an indication of the confidence politicians have in the APC platform and the competitiveness of its internal electoral processes.
He, however, noted that despite the large number of aspirants, the party had recorded relatively few post-primary court cases, attributing this to efforts to manage internal competition and resolve disagreements.
Yilwatda observed that some politicians who failed to secure APC tickets subsequently obtained tickets from opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
He further highlighted the party’s numerical strength in elected offices, stating that the APC currently had 31 governors, 88 senators and 208 members of the House of Representatives, alongside substantial representation in state Houses of Assembly.
The chairman said the party had also presented candidates for all elective positions it was contesting in the 2027 elections, released and inaugurated its campaign council, commenced campaign activities and uploaded its candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.
He urged INEC to adhere strictly to its published electoral timetable, stressing that electoral rules must apply equally to all political parties to guarantee a fair and transparent process.
“We believe INEC should stick to its timetable. The rules must apply equally to every political party. The electoral process must be fair, transparent and predictable, without adjusting deadlines in a manner that gives any party an undue advantage,” he stated.
Despite its organisational strength, Yilwatda assured the ECOWAS delegation that the APC remained committed to democratic competition and would not use its position as the ruling party to suppress opposition groups.
He maintained that all political parties should enjoy equal access to the media, campaign venues and other legitimate opportunities to present their programmes and engage voters.
Earlier, the leader of the ECOWAS mission, Foh, said the delegation was undertaking a political assessment aimed at contributing to the organisation of free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria.
He explained that the mission would rely on systematic observation, verification and reliable data collection in assessing the country’s political and electoral environment.
“Our monitoring is scientific, and our decisions on issues are based on scientific observation. We verify information before making any pronouncement, and we use a robust application system to collect data. Our reports are therefore not arbitrary,” Foh said.
He added that the mission was engaging relevant political stakeholders to obtain information and perspectives that would assist its assessment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Foh commended Yilwatda for the detailed presentation, noting that the engagement had provided the delegation with useful insights into the APC’s membership strength, organisational structure, internal processes and electoral preparations.
