A pressure group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has raised the alarm over what it describes as the forceful collection and misuse of National Identity Numbers (NIN) belonging to pensioners and students to fraudulently inflate party membership figures in Ilorin.
The group, led by its coordinator, Mr. Abdulganiyu Omowaye, made the allegation in a statement issued on Saturday in Ilorin, warning that the practice poses grave legal, ethical and political dangers to both the party and the affected individuals.
According to Omowaye, party operatives in Ilorin allegedly exploited the databases of civil servants and vulnerable groups, collecting NINs under the guise of empowerment programmes, only to deploy them for APC membership registration.
He alleged that the scheme was designed to manipulate party records, create a false impression of massive grassroots support, and mislead the national leadership of the APC in a desperate bid to retain power at all costs.
“At my registration centre, some of our members came with their NINs, only to be told by officials that their details had already been used. This experience was repeated by many of our members,” he said.
“When we traced the source of the problem, we discovered that their data had been collected earlier and used for party registration without their consent. This is not only theft; it is a criminal offence that must be punished. It is unreasonable and unacceptable for such acts to be tolerated within the party,” he added.
Omowaye further alleged that some APC elements in Ilorin were using the personal data of elderly citizens receiving social welfare benefits, popularly known as Owo Arugbo, to register them as party members. He also accused party operatives of offering money to students to lure them into what he described as a sham registration exercise.
According to him, certain individuals within the APC structure in Kwara Central have been obtaining the NINs of pensioners and students and registering them as party members without their knowledge or consent, a move he described as dubious, unacceptable and a direct violation of citizens’ rights.
“Some members of the party in Kwara Central are forcefully collecting the NINs of pensioners and students to inflate membership figures. This is unacceptable and must be exposed by all well-meaning APC members,” he said.
He warned that the illegal collection and political use of NINs constitutes a serious criminal offence that exposes vulnerable groups, especially pensioners and young students, to identity theft, financial fraud and other security risks.
Beyond the personal danger to individuals, Omowaye said the alleged manipulation of membership data poses a serious threat to the credibility of the APC as a democratic institution.
“The leadership of the party must act swiftly to nip this in the bud. A thorough investigation must be ordered, and all those involved in this disgraceful act must be brought to book. Forcing citizens to surrender their NINs for political purposes is a crime against the people,” he stated.
The group further alleged that the scheme was carefully designed to artificially boost membership figures in Kwara Central ahead of forthcoming APC congresses and primaries, thereby positioning certain aspirants for undue advantage.
Omowaye accused individuals nursing governorship ambitions of orchestrating the alleged fraud to project a false narrative of popularity and dominance, with the intention of deceiving the party’s National Working Committee.
He also alleged that names and NINs of individuals from Kwara North and Kwara South were unlawfully used to register members under Kwara Central, describing the practice as a clear falsification that undermines the integrity of the entire registration exercise.
“The use of names and NINs from other districts calls into question the authenticity of the figures being paraded and puts the party in a bad light,” he said.
The group called on the national leadership of the APC to immediately reject any membership figures submitted from Kwara Central, insisting that the data being presented are inflated and misleading.
It also urged the party to suspend the ongoing membership registration exercise in the zone and deploy strict monitoring mechanisms to ensure transparency, accountability and credibility.
“Some desperate party stalwarts are engaging in actions that could cast serious aspersions on the APC. This exercise must be halted and properly supervised before it damages the party beyond repair,” Omowaye warned.
He concluded by stressing that the falsification of membership figures and the criminal misuse of citizens’ identity data must not be treated lightly, urging the party leadership to intervene decisively in the interest of justice, internal democracy and the credibility of the APC.
“Our party must urgently investigate the membership figures coming from Kwara Central. Criminal acts are being committed under the guise of politics. This is the moment for the leadership to act decisively,” he said.
