Jane Salihu
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended its nationwide membership e-registration exercise to February 8, 2026, as the party prepares for its congresses and National Convention, while excluding four states from the upcoming congress schedule.
The decision was announced on Thursday in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Barrister Felix Morka, while briefing journalists after the 183rd meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Morka disclosed that the NWC resolved to shift the deadline for the ongoing e-registration exercise from January 31 to February 8, 2026, following appeals from party members and governors seeking more time to register eager participants.
He also revealed that the party’s congresses will hold nationwide on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, while the National Convention is scheduled for March 27 to March 28, 2026.
However, Osun State, Ekiti State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Rivers State were excluded from the congress timetable.
According to Morka, the exclusion of Osun, Ekiti and the FCT is due to upcoming elections in those areas, while Rivers State is exempted because the tenure of its executives, elected during off-cycle congresses held last year, is still subsisting.
“The tenure of the Rivers State executives has not expired, and it would be improper to conduct fresh congresses before then,” Morka explained.
He dismissed insinuations that the extension of the e-registration exercise was due to poor participation, describing such reports as “mischievous.”
“The e-registration exercise has been tremendously successful. In fact, the figures we shared at the last briefing have already been surpassed,” he said, adding that APC membership has crossed seven million and continues to grow rapidly.
Morka noted that requests for the extension came from several states and were reinforced during a recent meeting with APC governors, prompting the NWC to allow more time to avoid disenfranchising willing members.
He further announced that the NWC approved the composition of the Coordinating Committee for the National Convention, with the full list expected to be published on Monday alongside adjustments to the congress timetable.
Contributing, the National Secretary of the party,
Senator Ajibola Basiru, said the APC’s digital registration drive reflects its commitment to innovation and internal reforms.
Basiru explained that the e-registration requires registrants to provide their names and Voter Identification Numbers (VIN), noting that party membership must be tied to voter eligibility.
“How can one be a member of a political party without being a registered voter?” he asked, adding that the APC is ahead of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in building a name-based digital register.
He projected that APC’s membership strength would exceed 12.5 million by the time registration closes on February 8.
The party also announced that applications for its forthcoming congresses will, for the first time, be conducted online as part of efforts to fully digitise its internal processes.
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