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The African Democratic Congress, ADC has raised an alarm regarding what it calls widespread and organized efforts to force Nigerian civil servants into registering for the All Progressives Congress, APC via its ongoing e-registration process.

A statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi included this.

The ADC stated that it had received reports from various regions of the country, alleging that public servants are facing pressure to register for the ruling party in order to secure their jobs, advance their careers, or maintain access to their livelihoods.

The party characterized the development as intolerable in a democratic society, cautioning that forcing citizens to join a political party constitutes a severe infringement of basic human rights protected by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The ADC states that the freedoms of thought, conscience, and association are inalienable rights that no government or ruling party can bestow or revoke.

It contended that the APC’s concept of “e-registration” is progressively resembling economic coercion and compelled political affiliation.

“A political party that genuinely enjoys popular support does not need to conscript citizens through fear, intimidation, or the weaponisation of the payroll,” the statement said, adding that pressuring civil servants to register for a party they do not believe in amounts to what it termed “state-sponsored conscription,” rather than genuine party growth.

The ADC also cautioned that this purported practice endangers the integrity and professionalism of the Nigerian civil service, which is constitutionally mandated to uphold neutrality, meritocracy, and loyalty to the state above any political party.

The party observed that transforming civil servants into instruments of partisanship weakens the credibility of institutions and diminishes public trust in governance.

It also rejected the assertion that an increasing digital membership register indicates genuine political backing, emphasizing that databases established through coercion do not correspond to votes cast.

“Databases do not vote; citizens do,” the statement emphasized, noting that while inflated figures obtained through intimidation may serve propaganda aims, they cannot hide what it called a rising public estrangement from a government grappling with economic difficulties, insecurity, and waning public trust.

The ADC urged relevant authorities, such as the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), labour unions, civil society organisations, and the international community, to carefully observe the situation. They cautioned that it could represent an abuse of power and possible infringements of data privacy and human rights.

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