The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has criticised the current state of political parties in Nigeria, saying many organisations appear large on paper but lack real grassroots strength.
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja during the party’s membership revalidation, mobilisation and registration flag-off, Aregbesola said most parties are obsessed with projecting size rather than building genuine structures.
According to him, membership registers across the political landscape are often filled with non-existent or repeated names to create a false impression of strength.
He said, “It does not help us. It does not strengthen us. At the end of such an exercise, all we will have is a token register propped up by a weak structure impressive on paper, powerless in practice.
“A party of ghosts cannot win elections. A party of ghosts cannot govern. A party of ghosts cannot hold its leaders to account. And a party of ghosts will, inevitably, be haunted by its own dishonesty.
“What we need what we must build with urgency and discipline is a membership register of integrity. Every name must belong to a real person. Every person must be documented, verified, and accounted for. This is not bureaucracy; this is the architecture of trust.
“Every one of us from national leadership down to the ward level must work together to ensure that only real people are registered and properly documented.
“ No leader should look the other way when registrations are padded. No officer should accept figures that cannot withstand scrutiny. We must be our own auditors before the public audits us.
“The integrity of our register is the integrity of our party. If we cannot be honest about who we are, we have no moral authority to demand honesty from those who govern.
“But integrity of registration is only the beginning. What matters more is the quality of membership that follows. We do not want members who exist only as names in a database.
“We want conscious members men and women who understand what this party stands for and are willing to work for it.
“A conscious member pays their dues—not because they are compelled, but because they are invested. A conscious member studies the party manifesto, understands its policy positions, explains our vision to their neighbours, and defends our principles in the public square.
“A conscious member does not work for the party only during elections. They work for the party every day in every ward, every local government, every state. They follow party lines, uphold party discipline, and serve wherever the party asks them to serve. This is the membership we must cultivate: loyal, informed, and active.
“The African Democratic Congress does not seek merely to participate in Nigeria’s democracy. We seek to redefine it. We aspire to be the model of democratic sophistication in our operations, in our internal governance, and in the ownership every member feels over this institution.
“We must invest in political education so that every member who joins us understands not just the party’s name but its mission, its manifesto, and its expectations.
“We must build a culture where paying dues, attending meetings, and participating in party activities is the norm, not the exception,” he said.
He urged party leaders at all levels to ensure that only genuine members are captured in the register, warning that inflated figures would ultimately weaken the party.
