The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nigeria’s Osun State is facing mounting difficulties in its membership registration exercise ahead of the August governorship election, after failing to meet targets set by the party’s national leadership.
The ruling party had launched a nationwide membership drive, assigning quotas to each state chapter and directing them to submit completed membership registers within a specified timeframe.
However, party officials familiar with the process say the Osun chapter has missed the submission deadline twice, raising concerns within the APC’s national secretariat.
Sources told reporters that the party has struggled to attract new members across several parts of the state, with turnout reported to be below expectations in a number of local government areas.
There are also indications that some existing members have shown limited enthusiasm for the revalidation and re-registration exercise, contributing to lower-than-anticipated figures.
Some party insiders attribute the challenges to recent defections following the APC’s governorship primaries, which they say have reduced the number of potential registrants available to the party in the state.
Officials involved in the process say the new registration system includes stricter verification requirements, such as the submission of a National Identification Number (NIN), making it more difficult to inflate membership numbers.
In response to a revised deadline, the Osun APC is reported to have intensified efforts to recruit members, including canvassing residents in markets and other public places.
Multiple sources alleged that some individuals were offered cash payments — reportedly up to ₦10,000 ($6) — in exchange for providing their personal details and NIN for registration. The BBC has not independently verified these claims.
Some residents said they were told their participation could make them eligible for future government empowerment programmes, although no official confirmation of such programmes was immediately available.
The reported payments have also prompted suspicion among some members of the public. An eyewitness at Owode Market said traders questioned why a political party would offer money in exchange for personal identification details.
“The women were asking why a political party would need to pay them just to collect their NIN,” the eyewitness said.
A source close to the APC’s national secretariat said senior party officials were concerned about what was described as “very abysmal” membership figures in Osun State, particularly with the election now only months away.
The APC has not publicly responded to the allegations or the reported difficulties with the registration exercise.
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