Defections Hit Politicians, Not Voters – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has unveiled an interim report on its digital membership registration exercise, claiming that over 4.2 million Nigerians have enrolled in the party within a three-week period, asserting that the defection wave affecting its ranks is limited to political office holders rather than the electorate.
The party’s factional National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, disclosed the figures at a press briefing in Abuja, presenting data as of midnight on March 31, 2026, which showed a total of 4,264,675 registered members.
According to Ememobong, the exercise was conducted within a tight timeline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and relied heavily on volunteer mobilisation across rural and urban communities. “This digital membership registration has shown clearly that the politicians are defecting, not the electorate,” he said.
A breakdown of the data indicated an average of 24 members per polling unit and approximately 484 members per ward across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards. Gender distribution showed male members at 2,336,069, while female members stood at 1,928,606, representing a margin of just over nine per cent. Age demographics revealed that persons aged 18 to 40 constituted 40.3 per cent of registrants, followed by those aged 41 to 60 at 30.7 per cent, while individuals aged 61 and above accounted for 28.9 per cent.
Geographically, the South-West recorded the highest number of registrations with 953,954 members, followed by the South-South with 917,652. The North-Central recorded 757,502 members, the North-West 754,935, the North-East 646,305, while the South-East had 234,327 registrants. At the state level, Kaduna led with 408,915 members, followed by Edo with 378,033, Oyo with 368,204, Ogun with 316,311, and Kano with 275,786 members.
The PDP linked the turnout to public dissatisfaction with the administration of President Bola Tinubu, particularly regarding security challenges. “They are dissatisfied with the current maladministration of the Tinubu APC-led Federal Government, where killings and insecurity have become the new normal for Nigerians,” Ememobong said. He also criticised the government’s response time to security incidents compared to political matters.
Amid its ongoing leadership crisis, the party drew a distinction between what it described as the ‘authentic’ party and individuals it accused of working for the APC from within. “The PDP is an opposition party and cannot and will not become an appendage of, or subservient to, the APC,” he added.
The PDP announced that the registration exercise has been extended to April 30, 2026, citing high demand. Ememobong stressed that the process remains free and is being conducted through the party’s official digital platform. He noted that a large number of entries are undergoing verification to ensure accuracy.
“This show of confidence by these millions of Nigerians places on us, the leadership, a concomitant responsibility to protect and safeguard their future,” Ememobong said.