As preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections, there are indications that the opposition is fretting over the mandatory electronic membership registration introduced under the Electoral Act 2026.

This is even as the African Democratic Congress has warned that the new requirement could narrow the democratic space.

At the heart of the dispute is Section 77(4) and related provisions of the amended law, which mandate all registered political parties to submit their digital membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, not later than April 2, 2026, as a precondition for participating in the elections.

DAILY POST learnt that under the law, political parties are required to maintain a digital register of members and submit it to INEC within a stipulated timeframe.

Only individuals whose names appear in the submitted register can participate in party primaries, congresses or conventions.

Opposition leaders are now arguing that the timeline is too tight and the provisions too stringent, effectively placing hurdles before parties that may not have the same structural or financial capacity as the ruling party.

The ADC was among the first to raise concerns, describing the timeline as restrictive and potentially exclusionary.

The party warned that with barely weeks to comply, the requirement risks shutting out smaller or less technologically prepared parties from the 2027 race.

Other opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Labour Party, LP, have also expressed reservations over the operational implications of the new law.

DAILY POST gathered that the Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, an umbrella body of political parties, has convened a meeting on Wednesday to deliberate on the matter, amid growing anxiety across party lines.

Opposition ‘asleep’ — Sambo

Commenting about the matter, Sumner Sambo, Editor for Politics at Arise News, faulted opposition parties for what he described as a lack of vigilance over key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, particularly the mandatory electronic membership registration requirement.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Monday, Sambo said opposition parties were “seemingly docile” while the legislation was being debated and passed by the National Assembly.

According to him, the amendment process had been ongoing since last year and included public hearings across the country, making the provisions accessible to all stakeholders, including minority caucuses in both chambers of the legislature.

He questioned why opposition parties were now accusing the All Progressives Congress, APC, of having prior knowledge and commencing early compliance, when the document was publicly available.

Sambo noted that much of the public debate at the time centered on electronic transmission of election results, while other sections, such as Section 77 and related subsections mandating digital membership registers, received limited scrutiny.

He claimed that the APC appeared to have strategically positioned itself by pushing through the legislation and commencing early compliance.

The political analyst further highlighted that the new provision effectively shuts the door on last-minute defections, a common feature of Nigeria’s pre-election politics.

Sambo said: “The opposition actually has been seemingly docile in terms of, you know, following what is required of them to participate in the next general elections.

“And I say this because in the National Assembly, we have minority caucuses of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and this legislation has been ongoing since last year.

“So I wonder how the opposition is actually accusing the APC now of having a hindsight or a sort of knowledge that this was going to happen, and so the APC has started its own registration before that of the opposition.

“This document was a public document to everyone that there were even public hearings that were held across the country as to some of the innovations that National Assembly members were going to introduce.

“And then the focus was just on electronic transfer of election results. They allowed the CSOs to goad them into that aspect forgetting other provisions like you have said, section 77 sub-section 84, you know, which INEC is duty bound to implement.

“Now, if you take a look at the provisions right now, they have just the month of March to actually kick off their e-registration. And then you will go ahead to see that the ADC has kicked against that. Other political parties like PDP have kicked against that.

“And just this morning, I spoke with the national chairman of the Inter Party Advisory Council and he told me that they’ve summoned a meeting for Wednesday where the Inter Party Advisory Council will be talking about all of this and finding the best solutions to it.

“But INEC usually holds quarterly meetings with political parties, including the media where some of these things are discussed and all of that.

“So I am surprised how, you know, the opposition political parties just allowed all of these things to pass through the National Assembly and get assented without them opposing some of these things, if they were not confident about that.

“And you know, having seen that the APC was doing this e-registration, I thought that they would have been able to pick from that.

“Unfortunately, there’s a whole lot of blame game. But the reality on ground is that there’s a law on ground, and there’s nothing INEC can do about it.

“So I wonder what exactly they’ll be coming out with on Wednesday, when the parties that dominate IPAC actually meet and take a decision, because I don’t know if within the tight timeframe that we have, INEC can still do anything, because INEC is also complaining of the tight schedule.

“And if you listen to the INEC Chairman yesterday, he’s saying that he can’t promise 100% perfection in the election because INEC is working on a tightrope in terms of logistics, in terms of budget and all of that.

“So I don’t really envy the political parties, but I think that they could actually do the best that they can within this timeframe and then see what they can do, because the provisions here are very, very stringent.

“For example, if you don’t have your name in the digital copy of the registration of members that has been submitted to INEC, you cannot participate in party primaries, congresses or conventions.

“And what does that mean? You cannot benefit from it, so you can’t vote and you can’t be voted for. What were they doing that they didn’t look at this provision and then also take a look at it.

“What does this mean? It means that you cannot defect from one political party to another because this digital e-registration membership form would have been submitted to INEC.

“And the law says that if your name is not in that political party, in that registration list that was submitted to INEC, you cannot partake in party primary.

“So anybody who is waiting by May 30 in APC or PDP or ADC to harvest from people who fail to get their ticket is living in dreamland because that provision no longer exists.

“So it’s a very tight situation, and I think APC actually scored themselves very high by pushing through this legislation, and the opposition did not see it.

“So anybody who loses out in any political party primaries now, I mean, has already lost out. He can’t move to another political party because there’s already a register of members of that political party with INEC, and you can’t just go and start changing it again, because that copy has already been submitted to INEC for that party primaries and so on.

“So I don’t actually envy the political parties. They actually have a right to keep making all these, you know, assertions, but it’s a very difficult situation for them, including for INEC.”

‘Democracy in danger’ – Okonkwo

However, a chieftain of ADC, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused the ruling APC of introducing stringent provisions in the Electoral Act 2026 to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Okonkwo described the requirement under Section 77 of the Act mandating the submission of digitalised membership registers within a limited timeframe as a threat to democracy.

Okonkwo argued that giving parties less than two months to compile and submit comprehensive digital registers is restrictive.

He explained that Section 77 recognises political parties as corporate entities with perpetual succession but also mandates them to maintain a detailed digital register containing members’ names, addresses, local government areas, polling units and National Identification Numbers (NIN).

He alleged that the provisions were deliberately crafted to restrict political mobility and prevent aspirants who lose primaries, particularly within the APC, from defecting to other parties to pursue their ambitions.

Describing the requirements as “booby traps,” he claimed they were designed for self-preservation and to “emasculate and strangle the opposition.”

Okonkwo said: ” Yes, the opposition parties, they are grieved, because democracy is in danger.

“How can you less than two months you are telling the opposition people, they have to provide digitalized membership register.

“That is in Section 77 and I will analyze it for you, break it down, for you to know the mischief that is happening.

“The whole idea of amendment of laws is to cure mischief, but the amendment of laws under APC is to create mischief. That is why Nigeria is mischievously going down the drain.

“Section 77 said that, of course, political parties are body corporates with perpetual succession and with a common seal that can sue and be sued in its own name, so the legal personality or political party is guaranteed, and then they should maintain a digital register that will contain the name addresses all local government and polling units in it, and even the NIN (National Identification Number) of the members.

“And then this register is the one you must use. You can’t use any other register for your primaries. And 21 days to the time that you want to do your primary, you must submit it to INEC.

“And anybody whose name is not written in the register cannot vote or be voted for. So all these things are to cage in the political parties. And they said any political party that does not submit that register is not eligible to field candidates.

“So you can see the booby traps. And of course, they are doing it also for self preservation, because they know that APC will implode.

“So to make it impossible that whoever is shortchanged by their dubious direct primary choice, which they are imposing on all the parties, cannot go to any other party to seek relief or to seek election.

“This is all the things they are doing for self preservation and to emasculate and strangle the opposition. Of course, you know they will fail.”

APC outplayed opposition – Analyst

Meanwhile, Nduka Odo, a public affairs analyst and communication expert at Peaceland University, Enugu, told DAILY POST in a chat that the uproar over the mandatory e-register requirement exposed deeper weaknesses within Nigeria’s opposition bloc ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to Odo, while the opposition parties were lamenting the provisions of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, the reality is that the amendment did not happen overnight.

Odo maintained that the APC simply demonstrated strategic foresight by commencing its e-registration early, while parties such as the ADC, PDP and Labour Party, LP, were now struggling to catch up.

The communication expert warned that if the opposition continues on what he described as a “blame-game trajectory,” it may inadvertently smooth the path for President Bola Tinubu and the APC in 2027.

He said: “The opposition parties were simply not vigilant. The amendment to the Electoral Act did not happen in secrecy.

“It went through the National Assembly, there were public hearings, there was media coverage.

“If you are serious about taking power in 2027, you must track every legislative move that can affect your participation. You cannot sleep through the process and then wake up to complain.

“Politics is about strategy and anticipation. What the All Progressives Congress has done is demonstrate foresight. They understood early that compliance would be key, so they moved ahead with their e-registration.

“Meanwhile, the opposition are reacting late. In competitive politics, reaction is always weaker than preparation.”

“What we are seeing is a pattern of complacency. The opposition has not shown the level of coordination, unity and technical preparedness required to challenge an incumbent government effectively.

“Instead of building structures quietly and strategically, they seem to rely heavily on public outrage and media narratives. That is not enough to win a national election.

“If the opposition continues on this path, President Bola Tinubu may very well coast to victory in 2027.

“Elections are won long before election day, through organisation, compliance with the law, grassroots mobilisation and strategic timing. On this issue, the APC clearly outsmarted them,” he stated.

He added that: “The window is still open, but it is narrowing. If the opposition truly wants to be competitive in 2027, they must stop the blame game, comply swiftly with the law and rebuild their structures with urgency.

“Otherwise, they may discover that the 2027 contest was effectively decided by their own lack of seriousness.”