The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has said the party’s solid organisational structure and membership strength of approximately 13 million members give it a significant advantage over other political parties ahead of 2027 general elections.
Yilwatda made this known while receiving pre pre-election fact finding mission of the Economic Community of West African States led by former Vice President of Sierra Leone Victor Bockarie Foh over the weekend at party National Secretariat in Abuja. The chairman received a mission with other members of the National Working Committee.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, the APC Chair said the party had over the years built extensive and well coordinated political organisation that distinguishes it from other parties in Nigeria and places it in strong position to mobilise voters and compete effectively in 2027 elections.
According to him, the party strength is rooted not merely in electoral victories but also in verifiable membership database, grassroots structures, elected representatives, nationwide support groups and established internal processes.
He said the party is the largest political party in Nigeria and in terms of structure, organisation and membership no other party comes close, describing APC as approximately three times larger than the next political party in the country.
He disclosed that APC had approximately 13 million registered members spread across all local government areas in Nigeria with detailed records and membership identity cards designed to facilitate verification through National Identification Numbers and voter identification details.
The National Chairman explained that the membership database and identification system provide a strong foundation for effective grassroots engagement, mobilisation, internal coordination and electoral planning.
Yilwatda highlighted the scale of APC organisational network noting that the party maintains elected and appointed executive structures from ward level through local governments and states to national level.
According to him APC has more than 261,000 executive members across its organisational hierarchy network he described as a major source of political strength and nationwide reach.
He noted that party structure enables it to maintain contact with members and supporters at grassroots while coordinating political activities and campaign strategies across the country.
APC National Chairman also pointed to party numerical strength in elected offices as evidence of national acceptance and organisational reach.
He disclosed that the party has 31 governors out of 36, 88 senators out of 109 member Senate and 208 members of House of Representatives out of 360 seats.
He added that the party also enjoys the significant presence in state Houses of Assembly across the country.
Yilwatda said representation provides APC with an extensive network of political leadership and elected officials capable of connecting government policies with citizens and mobilising support at federal state and local levels.
He stressed however that party strength is not limited to elected officeholders as it also enjoys support from a broad range of organised groups including youth women and persons with disabilities.
He said structures are the foundation of strength and the party has built an organisation that reaches every part of the country and gives it capacity to engage Nigerians across different demographics.
APC Chairman further highlighted the level of competition witnessed during party primary elections disclosing that more than 7,000 aspirants contested for various positions ahead of 2027 general elections.
He argued that the large number of aspirants reflected the confidence many politicians have in the APC platform and the competitive character of its internal electoral processes.
Despite the number of aspirants Yilwatda said the party had recorded relatively few post primary court cases compared with the scale of contests describing this as indication of efforts to manage internal competition and resolve disagreements.
He also observed that several politicians who failed to secure APC tickets subsequently obtained tickets from opposition parties including African Democratic Congress and Nigeria Democratic Congress.
According to him this development underscores APC attractiveness to politicians and intensity of competition for its tickets.
The Chairman maintained that the party ‘s organisational advantage is reinforced by experience of its members noting that many of those who secured tickets have maintained long standing relationships with the party.
Yilwatda stated that APC had presented candidates for all available elective positions it was contesting in 2027 general elections describing development as evidence of readiness and nationwide reach.
He contrasted this with reported difficulties some opposition parties had encountered in fielding candidates for certain positions and completing candidate submission processes.
He further disclosed that APC had released its campaign council list, inaugurated council commenced campaign activities and uploaded candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission portal ahead of rivals.
The chairman said the party expected INEC to maintain strict adherence to its published electoral timetable arguing that consistent application of rules was essential to ensuring fairness among all political parties.
He emphasised that APC preparation for 2027 was based on organisational capacity, candidate readiness and nationwide structures rather than assumption that electoral victory was automatic.
Despite acknowledged numerical and organisational advantage Yilwatda assured ECOWAS mission that APC remained committed to democratic competition and would not use its position to suppress opposition parties.
He said all political parties should enjoy equal access to media campaign venues and other legitimate opportunities to present their programmes and engage the electorate.
The chairman cited public protests against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration including Tinubu Must Go demonstrations as evidence that citizens and opposition groups could express views without being automatically subjected to arrest or intimidation.
He maintained that a strong ruling party should be confident enough to compete within the rules of democracy while protecting political space for opposing views.
He said being the largest political party does not mean the party wants to suppress anybody and that party wants democratic environment in which every party can organise campaigns and seek support of Nigerians without fear.
Yilwatda added that APC understood the realities of democratic competition having experienced electoral defeats in the past. He explained that the party had on such occasions engaged political stakeholders and pursued cooperation where common interests existed.
He cited political realignments following APC defeat in Anambra and Osun governorship elections as examples of how electoral competition could be followed by political engagement and collaboration.
He noted that such engagements had contributed to broader political alliances and cooperation in support of President Tinubu re-election bid.
Earlier head of ECOWAS pre-election fact finding mission Victor Bockarie Foh explained that mission was undertaking political assessment aimed at contributing to the organisation of free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria.
Foh said mission work would be guided by systematic observation verification and collection of reliable data rather than assumptions or arbitrary conclusions.
He said monitoring is scientific and decisions on issues are based on scientific observation, noting that the mission verifies information before making any pronouncement and uses robust application systems to collect data.
He explained that the mission was engaging relevant political stakeholders to obtain information and perspectives that would assist its assessment of Nigeria electoral environment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Foh commended Yilwatda for detailed presentation noting that information provided had offered mission valuable insight into APC organisational structure membership internal processes and preparations for forthcoming elections.
He expressed confidence that engagement would contribute meaningfully to mission understanding of political landscape and conditions under which elections would be conducted.
