The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has formally flagged off its electronic registration exercise for party members, underscoring the need for a technology-driven and credible party administration.

Flagging off the exercise at the party’s state secretariat in Port Harcourt, the Rivers APC Chairman, Tony Okocha, said the initiative was designed to ensure accuracy, inclusiveness and credibility in the party’s membership register across the state.

Okocha stressed that the e-registration process would eliminate discrimination and sharp practices, noting that all eligible party members must be captured.
According to him, the exercise marks a significant step towards strengthening the APC’s internal structure in line with ongoing national reforms.

The flag-off ceremony was attended by members of the State Working Committee, as well as coordinators and registration trainees from the state’s 23 local government areas. The exercise, which commenced in the first week of January, is expected to run through the last week of the month.

He explained that the decision to embark on a fresh registration was informed by concerns arising from the 2023 general elections, during which the party’s claimed membership strength did not reflect in electoral outcomes.
“In 2023, we were said to have registered over 12 million members nationwide, but that figure did not translate at the polls. This raised serious questions about the credibility of our data. This exercise is to ascertain who our real members are, so that when elections come, our numbers will reflect on the ground,” Okocha said.

He emphasised that the registration process would be strictly digital and transparent, adding that it would be impossible to register fictitious names.
“This is not a registration you do from your house or send someone else to do for you. Your data will be displayed, and there will be nothing like ghost names,” he said.

Okocha urged registrars to adhere strictly to the guidelines, warning against attempts to manipulate the process for speed or advantage.
“Be strict, extremely strict. Follow the process religiously. We don’t want anyone to do anything odd in their units. Ensure that everyone within your precinct is properly onboarded,” he added.

He expressed confidence that, although some states began earlier and had recorded over 300,000 registrations, Rivers State would soon overtake them, given its population of over six million
.
Also speaking, the party’s state secretary, Eric Nwibani, said the exercise was aimed at positioning Rivers State among the leading APC states nationwide, after Lagos and Kano.

Nwibani disclosed that the party was collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that only genuine individuals were registered.
“This time, we want to be sure that everyone registered is a human being. That is why we partnered with NIMC, which gives us access to part of its database, so we are not starting from scratch,” he said.

He noted that Rivers State has 319 registration areas and 6,866 polling units, adding that registering even 100 persons per polling unit would surpass the state’s population benchmark.
“We expect everyone to take this exercise seriously. Once we begin, our numbers will steadily rise, and in the coming days, we will be competing favourably with states currently ahead of us,” Nwibani said.