Set standards for political party membership to prevent fabrications — IPAC

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish minimum standards for party membership to prevent fabrications that could undermine the nation’s democracy.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos, IPAC’s Lagos State Public Affairs Officer, George Ashiru, stressed the need for accurate party membership records. This call follows a recent statement by the National Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, who admitted that the party’s claim of having 45 million members during the 2023 general elections was a fabrication.

Basiru revealed at an e-membership registration workshop in Abuja that the inflated figure was used for strategic purposes and did not reflect the party’s actual support. He highlighted this by noting that the APC’s presidential candidate, now President Bola Tinubu, garnered less than 10 million votes in the election, exposing the inflated claim.

Ashiru, who also serves as the Lagos State Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), condemned the fabrication and urged INEC to prevent such falsehoods in the future. He stressed the importance of authentic party registers for a healthy democracy and proposed that INEC set clear criteria for party membership.

“It is not proper or acceptable, and no political party should get away with such falsehood,” Ashiru stated. “Going forward, INEC should set proper criteria so that people don’t come up with frivolous figures on membership to mislead voters and the nation.”

Ashiru noted that inflated membership figures have been used by major political parties, including the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which previously claimed to be the largest political party in Africa without evidence. He argued that such practices distort the democratic process and called for INEC to ensure the authenticity of party membership registers.

“This is an opportunity for INEC to set minimum standards on membership of political parties. What are they required, is it NIN? Is it BVN? All these are important to entrench democracy,” he added. Ashiru emphasized that accurate membership registers are crucial for determining how parties raise funds for elections and the number of supporters they can realistically mobilize to vote.