- Safiu Kehinde
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has debunked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) allegation of coercing Nigerian civil servants into membership registration with the ruling party through its ongoing e-registration exercise.
NPO Reported that the ADC had on Sunday alleged that civil servants across several states are currently pressurised by the APC’s national leadership to register with the party.
The opposition party, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the alleged forceful registration as a violation of the civil servants’ constitutional right to freedom of association and undermines the neutrality of the civil service.
It called on the on the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), civil society organizations, labour unions, and the international community to take not of what it described as state-enabled abuse of power and a potential violation of data privacy and human rights.
Reacting in a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the APC dismissed the ADC’s allegation, stressing that the opposition party is just being terrified and intimidated by the success of the e-registration exercise.
Morka held that the registration was done voluntarily without any form of coercion from the party.
The APC spokesperson further declared ADC’s allegation as entirely false and baseless.
He alleged that the opposition party is only attempting to cast a shadow on what was described a pathbreaking digitisation of the APC’s membership register.
The statement read; “Terrified by massive All Progressives Congress (APC) membership registration in the ongoing electronic-registration exercise, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has spewed a nonsensical allegation that civil servants were being pressured to participate in our Party’s E-Registration exercise.
“That claim is entirely false and baseless and seeks to cast a shadow over the cutting-edge and pathbreaking digitization of our Party’s membership register.
“It is a part of ADC’s disinformation campaign that included the fabrication and circulation of a fake “APC membership slip”, purporting that a notorious terrorist had registered as a member of APC.
“Inspired by visible gains and impact of the Renewed Hope Agenda, millions of Nigerians have registered and continue to register, voluntarily and enthusiastically, as members of our Party, compelling our leadership to yield to popular demand to extend the period of registration from January 31 to February 8, 2026. Clearly, the ADC is intimidated by the phenomenal success of our Party’s E-Registration exercise, for obvious reasons.
“However, that cannot justify concocting and spewing lies in an attempt to smear the exercise.
“While the ADC continues to fumble and peddle falsehood, our great Party remains focused on its onward march as Africa’s standard-bearer of digital and democratic innovation.”