‎𝗔𝗣𝗖 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝟭𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲‎

… as c𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗖 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲
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‎• The APC says its 13 million members and nationwide structure put it well ahead of rival parties for the 2027 general elections.
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‎• Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda told an ECOWAS mission the party will not use its size to suppress the opposition.
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‎• Confiance News learned that he also urged INEC to stick strictly to its published timetable.
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‎The All Progressives Congress (APC) says its organisational structure and membership of about 13 million give it a clear advantage over other parties ahead of the 2027 general elections, Confiance News has learned.
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‎National Chairman Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda made the claim while receiving an ECOWAS pre-election fact-finding mission at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja over the weekend. The mission was led by former Sierra Leonean Vice-President Victor Bockarie Foh. According to a statement sighted by Confiance News, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were present.
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‎𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆’𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺
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‎Yilwatda described the APC as the largest party in Nigeria. “We are approximately three times larger than the next political party in the country,” he said. He added that the party keeps records of its roughly 13 million registered members across all local government areas, and that membership cards can be verified through National Identification Numbers (NIN) and voter details. In addition, he said the APC has more than 261,000 executive members from ward level to the national level.
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‎𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆
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‎The chairman also pointed to the party’s seats as proof of its reach. He said the APC has 31 of the 36 governors, 88 of the 109 senators and 208 of the 360 House of Representatives members, plus a significant presence in state Houses of Assembly.
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‎𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀
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‎Furthermore, Yilwatda said more than 7,000 aspirants contested APC primaries, yet post-primary court cases remained relatively few. He noted that several politicians who missed APC tickets later secured tickets from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). In his view, that shows how attractive the APC platform is. He also said the party has fielded candidates for every position it is contesting, unlike some opposition parties.
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‎𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗖 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱
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‎Meanwhile, the chairman said the APC had already released its campaign council list, inaugurated the council, started campaigning and uploaded its candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal ahead of its rivals. “The rules must apply equally to every political party,” he said, urging INEC not to adjust deadlines in a way that favours any party.
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‎𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
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‎However, Yilwatda assured the mission that size would not become a weapon. He said every party should have equal access to the media and campaign venues. He cited the “Tinubu Must Go” protests as evidence that critics can speak out without automatic arrest or intimidation. He also recalled the APC’s defeats in the Anambra and Osun governorship elections, saying those losses were followed by political engagement and alliances that now support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
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‎𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲
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‎Foh said the mission is carrying out a political assessment to support free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria. He stressed that its findings rest on verified data, not assumptions. He commended Yilwatda for a detailed presentation that, he said, gave the team useful insight into the APC’s structure, membership and preparations.
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‎The statement was signed by Abimbola Tooki, Special Adviser to the National Chairman on Media and Information Strategy.