The ongoing electronic membership registration and re-validation exercise of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has further exposed and widened internal divisions within the ruling party, as allegations of deliberate exclusion and factional manipulation continue to trail the process in several states across the federation.

Although complaints of glitches and access restrictions had earlier surfaced in states such as Benue and Rivers, the controversy deepened this week following claims that APC members loyal to the member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State in the House of Representatives, Sani Aminu Jaji, were systematically denied participation in the exercise.

Jaji confirmed the development on Wednesday after storming the APC national secretariat in Abuja, where he met with the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and some members of the National Working Committee NWC.

He alleged that the State Organizing Secretary of the party in Zamfara was excluded from the planning and execution of the e-registration process, adding that aggrieved members had already petitioned the national leadership.

Party tackling issue

However, the NWC had days ago said it had been empowered to take corrective measures, including replacing state coordinators, where the exercise was found to be lagging, adding that challenges identified in some states had been addressed and that further interventions would be made where necessary.

National Secretary of the party, Senator Ajibola Basiru who responded to concerns about accessibility, said registration teams had been deployed in all political wards across the country, with several personnel assigned per ward depending on size, to ensure grassroots participation.

He added that in areas affected by insecurity or poor internet connectivity, particularly parts of the North East, members would be registered manually, with data uploaded later in locations with network access, to ensure that no member was disenfranchised.

Basiru dismissed fears about factional exclusion, insisting that the party’s leadership had made it clear that no group or tendency would be denied the opportunity to register, explaining that the exercise was strictly about membership and not about legitimising or disqualifying any faction.

Exclusion in Zamfara

But Jaji insists that the situation in Zamfara State is different. Explaining the genesis of the matter, Jaji said: “You are aware that our party has commenced the e-registration, and you know, in some places there are glitches here and there and in Zamfara. So I met with the National Chairman today, because when the party started the e-registration I was not in the country, so I traveled for lesser Hajj. Then my people called me to say that there is an issue. That, ‘they shortchanged the state organising secretary from participating in the process and some of the people that belong to the Jajiyya movement in the state. They were denied having their membership registration.'”

He added that despite widespread publicity of registration slips by some party stalwarts in Zamfara, the process itself remained questionable. “But we don’t know if they reached out to you, because we saw so many of the party stalwarts in the state, their membership registration are all over in the media, they are displaying it that this one registered, that one registered, despite the fact that nobody went to Zamfara to do that registration,” he said.

Jaji disclosed that when he initially raised the matter, he was told the Zamfara exercise might have been delayed. “I said, I don’t know, maybe they delayed Zamfara. They said, no, they didn’t delay it. They said to me that, ‘Sir, we have already gone ahead to petition the national chairman in order for him to address the issues at hand in the state,'” he explained, adding that the petition was based on the belief that the national chairman would guarantee fairness and inclusivity.

He further lamented that even he had not been registered as a serving member of the House of Representatives. “Now up to this moment that I am speaking with you, nobody registered me as a sitting member of the House of Representatives. As somebody who served as the director of contact and mobilisation during the presidential campaign of the 2023 general election, I said that, no, something is wrong somewhere,” Jaji said.

Warning against a repeat of past political mistakes, he added: “Maybe a subversive agent is working to undermine the victory of the APC election, not only in the state, but maybe all over, and such a situation, we cannot allow it. Because similar circumstances or scenarios have played out in 2015 in the then PDP. They undermined the presence of the structure of the party in the state, and that is why the party collapsed.”

According to him, the APC leadership acted swiftly after the matter was brought to its attention. “When I met the chairman, he was so excited, so glad to receive me. He said that, no, Jaji, this thing must be addressed. And then he addressed it there and then. He said that the Deputy National Organising Secretary and some other members of the NWC must address the issue immediately,” he said, disclosing that the assignment was handed to Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru.

Jaji expressed confidence in the leadership of the party, saying, “That is what we expected from you and that is why people have hope. And that is why you are picked as the national chairman, because the Renewed Hope agenda goes with people of hope and ambition. I believe some other places that have similar challenges, to my hearing, they are addressing all the issues like that.”

When asked whether the Minister of State for Defence and former Zamfara governor, Bello Matawalle, had been informed as the supposed party leader in the state, Jaji argued that the APC currently has no recognised leader in Zamfara. “By the party constitution, even though it is not boldly written, but normally it can be said that in the state, there is no leader who can say that I am the leader of the party, and that is why we are having issues,” he said, adding that the absence of clear leadership had allowed internal “shenanigans” to thrive.

He accused rival factions of acting out of fear of his political profile and grassroots following. “I think that singular aspiration of mine is still making them have a serious unrest because they were not ready or prepared to explain to the people what they did while they were there, during their stewardship,” Jaji said, linking the hostility to unresolved issues of insecurity and economic hardship in the state. “Based on the belief and the trust people have in me, they see that I still have something to say and people still have hope in me, and really I can change the narrative in the state,” he added.

Beyond Zamfara, the APC’s e-registration exercise has reportedly faced difficulties in several other states, with party insiders citing low registration figures, technical challenges, disputes over access to registration devices and accusations of factional hijack of the process. In some states, party officials have warned that coordinators who fail to ensure inclusive registration risk sanctions, as the national leadership struggles to harmonise the digital exercise nationwide. (Vanguard)

Update news