As the African Democratic Congress (ADC) continues online member registration ahead of the 2027 election, figures from the exercise so far show that the majority of new members joining the party are from the northern part of Nigeria.
This is based on data from the registration exercise as of Wednesday, 11 March 2026, across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as exclusively obtained by LEADERSHIP Weekend.
The data showed that a total of 652,143 new members were registered as of last Wednesday, with the northern region registering 555,299 and the south registering 96,844.
The ADC began its online registration on 1 March 2026.
According to the revised INEC timetable released on 26 February this year, parties are to commence the submission of membership registers to the commission between April 1 and 21, in keeping with the provisions of Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which provides that submissions must be made not later than 300 days before the election.
The submission of membership registers precedes the party primaries, to be held between April 23 and May 30, as stipulated in the election timetable.
Only registered party members can partake in the party’s primaries, where the candidate who will fly the party’s ticket will emerge.
Meanwhile, Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026 prescribes only the direct and consensus mode of primary election for the nomination of candidates for elections by political parties.
The presidential and National Assembly elections will be held on 14 January 2027, while the governorship and state assembly elections will be held on 6 February 2027.
So far, the three main ADC presidential aspirants are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi.
The three aspirants have repeatedly insisted on contesting the presidency, with Obi and Amaechi ruling out accepting a running mate slot.
In 2019, Atiku and Obi ran as the PDP’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, but contested separately in 2023 under the PDP and Labour Party platforms, respectively.
Amaechi, on the other hand, contested the APC presidential primaries but lost to President Bola Tinubu.
A breakdown of the registration figures
A further breakdown of the data shows that in the North East geopolitical zone, a total of 256,966 have registered so far, with Adamawa – 104,998; Bauchi – 41,024; Borno – 11,100; Gombe – 61,632; Taraba – 29,998; Yobe – 8,214.
In the South East geopolitical zone, a total of 23,296 members have been registered so far, with Abia registering 2,991; Anambra – 6,260; Ebonyi – 1,578; Enugu – 4,565; and Imo – 7,902.
In the South South geopolitical zone, a total of 35,904 persons have registered so far, with Akwa Ibom – 5,733; Bayelsa – 1,610; Cross River – 7,007; Delta – 6,398; Edo – 4,189; and Rivers – 10,967.
In the North Central geopolitical zone, the total number is 96,935, with Benue – 15,870; Kogi – 26,766; Kwara – 3,947; Nasarawa – 12,690; Niger – 23,039; Plateau – 5,625; and FCT (Abuja) – 8,998.
In the South West, the number of ADC registered members is 37,644, with Ekiti – 1,097; Lagos – 14,163; Ogun – 3,916; Ondo – 7,651; Osun – 3,470; and Oyo – 7,347.
In the North West, the number so far registered as ADC members as of March 11 was 201,398, with Jigawa – 14,699; Kaduna – 64,748; Kano – 34,255; Katsina – 47,243; Kebbi – 19,867; Sokoto – 10,089; and Zamfara – 10,497.
Based on the data so far, the north, where Atiku hails from, has more than 70 per cent of the total membership register.
In fact, members registered in Adamawa, Kaduna, and Gombe alone are more than the total members registered in all the 17 southern states.
On the other hand, in the south, where Obi and Amaechi hail from, a large concentration of their supporters has registered less than 25 per cent of total registrations.
Leave Obi Out Of Transactional Politics – Media Office
Meanwhile, the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) has responded to what it called fallacious claims made by one of President Tinubu’s spokesmen, Barrister Daniel Bwala, who alleged that Obi sought to engage him.
POMR spokesman Ibrahim Umar, in a statement, said the office would not normally dignify Bwala’s accusations with a reply, “given his well-documented history of dishonesty.”
Umar, however, said it felt it necessary to address the matter for the benefit of the public, who may be misled, because Obi had made it clear that he excludes individuals like Bwala from his political activities and any form of transactional politics that sustain people like him in the political space.
“The Peter Obi that Nigerians know and appreciate will never engage in such practices. He would rather allocate resources to provide desks for children in Bwala’s village than pay him to concoct falsehoods for public consumption.
“Obi’s approach is rooted in the pursuit of good governance and the creation of a better society for all. He does not pay people to promote a cause; instead, he invites them to join him in believing in a shared vision.
“His ‘engagement’ focuses on persuasion, emphasising the urgent need for a collective effort to rescue our nation. He welcomes those who choose to join him voluntarily, driven by the same deep-seated convictions.”
POMR urged those involved in transactional politics to reconsider their actions—for the sake of the society they are harming and for the future of Nigerian children, which is currently at risk.
It further called on Bwala and others like him to count Peter Obi out of their greed, repent, and join in the quest for a new Nigeria.
A series of attempts to get a reaction from the national publicity secretary of ADC proved abortive, as he didn’t respond to messages sent to him on the matter as of press time.
When asked about the data and mobilization process, the national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Tanko Yunusa, tersely said, “We are mobilizing, please.”
Reacting as an ally of Amaechi and former national publicity secretary of nPDP, Chief Eze Eze said, “Your records may be right, but rest assured that before the end of April, the South will be in a position to challenge the North on membership of ADC.
In achieving this, I am fully aware of the large number of pressure groups being set up to mobilize Nigerians to understand that ADC is set up to rescue Nigerians from the dungeon that the party APC has placed Nigeria in.
“Let me use this opportunity to commend and congratulate the Northerners for understanding that ADC is the salvation party that will move out the evil that APC represents. “Similarly, calls and messages sent to Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, on the matter were not responded to as of press time.
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