The African Democratic Congress has opened a free online membership registration portal as it moves to build a verifiable national database of members ahead of the 2027 general election, with the party warning that only those whose details are fully captured on its digital register will be eligible to participate in its primaries.
The portal is part of a broader membership registration and revalidation exercise that the party launched last month in Abuja. In a statement signed by national publicity secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the platform was designed specifically to meet the requirements of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates all political parties to submit a comprehensive digital membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission at least 21 days before their primaries.
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Members who registered on the party’s previous platform are required to revalidate their details on the new portal. Manual registration will continue simultaneously across the country, and support groups and associations have been encouraged to complete their onboarding through the same system.
The ADC said it had recorded strong interest from Nigerians across multiple states and from the diaspora since its physical registration drive began in February, and that the online option was intended to widen access further. “Introduction of the free online option is designed to remove barriers to entry, simplify enrolment, and ensure that every eligible Nigerian who wishes to identify with the ADC can do so seamlessly and securely,” the party said.
The registration drive is taking place against the backdrop of new legal obligations introduced by the Electoral Act 2026, which President Bola Tinubu signed into law on 18 February after it was passed by the National Assembly. Under Section 77(2) of the act, the digital register submitted to INEC must include each member’s name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, national identity number, and photograph, in both hard and soft copies — requirements that have pushed parties to overhaul membership systems that were largely paper-based.
The ADC noted that its registration exercise was proceeding without prejudice to its stated objections to certain provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and the INEC timetable — a caveat that signals the party intends to pursue its legal and regulatory concerns through separate channels whilst pressing ahead with its organisational preparations.
