Not surprisingly, we can spot something good and bad in the ongoing APC’s new membership registration drive nationwide.
First, the good.
APC as a pacesetter
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is adopting modern methods of party management through a digital database. This is an excellent move! Such database helps the party to track and analyse its membership. It comes in handy during fundraising, enhances communication, and altogether enables efficient, data-driven operations.
With a simple membership form that captures name, age, location and phone number, the party could segment its members by demographics, interests, or location to send tailored messages. It can rapidly mobilise volunteers for door-to-door canvassing. The database will help verify identity of members for internal voting to ensure integrity of party, candidate, or leader selection processes.
On the face of it, therefore, the ruling party has become a national pacesetter, worthy of commendation for this initiative.
Now to the bad.
Beyond demographic data
There are reports that the ruling party is collecting more than the demographic data mentioned above. Again, accusations are rife that the party coerces citizen voters to become card-carrying members of the ruling party.
The party leadership is yet to deny that it is harvesting sensitive financial information from prospective members. Such information include bank verification numbers (BVN), national identity numbers (NIN) and voter identity number (VIN). This is where the party e-registration exercise becomes a matter of concern
Nigeria’s data protection law and its regulations forbid harvesting of sensitive personal data such as NIN, BVN and other financial records without explicit, informed, and written consent of their owners. Unless it is required by law. They also forbid harvesting and using personal data without a specific, legitimate, and lawful purpose.
Interestingly, the courts forbade financial institutions from disclosing BVN and bank records to third parties without consent. The law also requires that any high-risk processing of such sensitive data must be preceded by a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).
Concerns with e-registration
With our weak data protection laws and poor enforcement, APC inadvertently exposes its registered members to grave danger. This is because, with the right price, citizens’ information can be leaked, sold, or weaponised here.
BVN information exposes citizens to financial fraud, extortion, and identity theft. NINs are permanent identifiers that follow individuals throughout their lives. Once captured by political actors, such data can be misused for profiling, intimidation, or transactional politics, including rewarding loyalty and punishing dissent. The collection of voters’ registration numbers is particularly corrosive to democratic norms.
Voting is meant to be secret, free, and insulated from partisan pressure. When political parties link membership data to voter identification systems, they create the possibility of tracking, targeting, and indirectly influencing how citizens vote. Even the perception that such linkage exists is enough to threaten political freedom. Citizens may feel watched, categorised, or threatened into compliance, especially in our democracy where the line between party and state is often blurred.
Lesson from other lands
We can learn from the experiences of other nations. In Cambodia, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party uses voter data and local registration systems to intimidate opposition supporters. This led to domestic distrust and frequent international condemnation of its elections.
The ruling party in Zimbabwe uses harvested voter rolls and identity data to rig elections. Possession of this data fosters fear rather than legitimacy, deepens political polarisation and increases voter apathy.
On the opposite side of democracy, Russia fuses party loyalty, state databases, and employment records to ensure that elections become less of a democratic exercises and more of an administrative ritual.
Even established democracies are not immune to misuse of personal data for political purposes. The Cambridge Analytica scandal of recent memory in the United States and the United Kingdom reveal how harvested personal data could be weaponised for political manipulation. We saw how this resulted in loss of public trust, regulatory crackdowns, and lasting damage to political institutions and technology platforms alike.
These examples demonstrate a consistent lesson: when political actors treat citizens’ data as a tool of control, legitimacy erodes. If these dangers exist in fledgling and advanced democracies, what makes anyone think that Nigeria is not about to enter a blind spot?
The matter of coercion
We hear that ordinary citizens—especially civil servants—are increasingly pressured to register as card-carrying members of political parties. We heard it first in Anambra, an APGA stronghold. We are now hearing it in states controlled by the APC, representing 80 percent of Nigerian states. If this were true, it will be an unfortunate development.
Civil servants are meant to serve the state, not a party. Forcing or coercing them into partisan registration compromises neutrality, professionalism, and public confidence in government institutions. It also turns livelihoods into political bargaining chips, where access to jobs, promotions, or security is tied to party loyalty rather than merit or law.
Shining a light on the issues
Opposition apathy
In this situation, isn’t it a surprise that opposition parties and civil society organisations do not recognize their constitutional and moral duty to act? What prevents them from suing to stop the APC e-registration? Our courts exist precisely to restrain excesses of power and to protect fundamental rights. If for nothing else, such a legal challenge can compel transparency, limit unlawful data collection, and enforce privacy protections.
Beyond litigation, public advocacy and civic education are essential to remind citizens that political participation is a right, not an obligation enforced through fear or data capture. We need to sell the message that democracy thrives when citizens can engage freely, privately, and without coercion.
In conclusion
APC is setting the pace by the current e-registration exercise. However, the party should note that any political process that converts membership registration into a data-harvesting exercise ostensibly aimed at control rather than consent is a warning sign. If left unchecked, it is capable of transforming parties from vehicles of representation into instruments of surveillance – and intimidation.
Right now, too many ordinary citizens are agonising over what non-registration with APC could mean for their businesses and enjoyment of public services. Our democracy can ill afford this subtle coercion and induced fear in the name of party membership registration.
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