By Peter Dansu Barely 24 hours after the African Democratic Congress rolled out its free nationwide online membership registration, the exe...
By Peter Dansu
Barely 24 hours after the African Democratic Congress rolled out its free nationwide online membership registration, the exercise has come under heavy scrutiny as Nigerians flooded the portal with fake names, questionable National Identification Numbers and even pictures of pets.
The party had on Sunday unveiled a new digital platform ahead of the 2027 general elections. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC directed existing members to update and revalidate their details in line with the Electoral Act 2026 and guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
But what was meant to signal digital readiness quickly turned into a social media spectacle.
Within hours, membership cards bearing the names of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, United States President Donald Trump and other global figures began circulating online.
One X user, Maknun Alli-Oluwafuyi, posted a membership card showing that he had successfully registered his dog, complete with a membership number. Another user, Dr Dipo Awojide, mocked the platform’s credibility, claiming that world leaders including Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping could seamlessly sign up on the portal.
In a similar vein, Ansem Edet claimed he had registered all players and managers of Arsenal and was planning to extend the exercise to the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga.
Another user, identified as IJK, described the process as a scam and warned that the apparent lack of verification could open the door to manipulation of the party’s presidential primaries. According to him, the system allowed registration with fictitious names, fake NINs and unverified phone numbers, with no immediate checks in place.
“These serious security lapses leave this window open for manipulation,” he wrote, sharing what he said was proof of his own successful registration using fabricated details.
However, former Lagos State governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, dismissed the mockery, insisting that critics were rattled by what he described as massive grassroots mobilisation.
He said the online registration was only the first phase, stressing that actual confirmation would take place at the ward level. According to him, the structure of physical validation would ensure credibility and weed out fake entries.
“So by all means, it will be such a delight to see Trump and Asiwaju show up to validate their membership at their respective wards,” he said, urging supporters to ignore the noise and continue registering.
When contacted, Abdullahi responded by sharing screenshots of alleged fake registrations during the membership drive of the All Progressives Congress, which reportedly included names such as Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.
He maintained that the ADC had introduced corrective measures, including a live photo capture requirement.
However, further checks indicated that the live photo feature could still be manipulated, as users were able to upload obscured images or objects in place of clear facial identification.
When this was pointed out to him, Abdullahi simply replied that the feedback would be passed on to the party’s technical team.
As the controversy unfolds, political observers say the episode underscores the risks and challenges political parties face as they embrace digital tools in the build-up to 2027.
Sourced from Punch
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