By Dayo Olufemi
As the 2027 elections draw nearer, a fresh row over the membership register of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State is raising a simple question: who gave the All Progressives Congress (APC) the authority to decide who belongs to the PDP?
Political commentator Dayo Olufemi, writing from Abeokuta, says no party has that right. The APC cannot run the PDP’s internal affairs, he argued, just as the PDP cannot determine who is a member of the APC.
He pointed out that the law requires every registered party to keep a register of its members and submit it to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within the prescribed period. That duty, he said, belongs to the party concerned, which makes it hard to understand why a rival would suddenly pronounce on another party’s membership.
Questions over the document
The controversy centres on a document being circulated by political actors, which is presented as proof that some PDP candidates in Ogun are not members of the party.
Olufemi said that even if the document is genuinely the PDP register submitted to INEC, Nigerians deserve to know where it came from, when it was made, who certified it and whether it is complete. He asked how the APC obtained it, who supplied it, and whether it is the full and current register.
In his view, it is premature and potentially misleading to treat a circulated document as final proof. “Political propaganda must not be allowed to masquerade as an electoral fact,” he said.
He added that candidates’ names presented through the official process are already subject to INEC’s scrutiny, and that the commission has itself said verification of party membership registers is part of its preparations for 2027. If a party had failed to meet the requirements, he argued, INEC would not have released its candidates’ names. Since the commission has published its list of qualified candidates, he said, that list is the official position, and anything said afterwards is an afterthought.
If there is a discrepancy in the PDP register, he said, INEC should say so officially instead of letting the ruling APC speak for it.
The “victory without a fight” remark
Olufemi also turned to comments attributed to Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi. The senator was quoted as saying: “God will give us victory and clear our path without a fight. Because there will be nobody contesting against us.” He was further reported to have said that by February 2027 nobody would be contesting against him because his opponents were allegedly “partyless.”
Olufemi said such a statement is a political prediction, not evidence that anyone has been disqualified. Qualification, he said, is for the law and the competent electoral or judicial authorities to decide. He suggested that no candidate who was confident of the people’s love would need to be working to remove a rival’s name or spreading falsehoods. An allegation, he added, should not become an established fact through repetition.
A call on INEC to stay neutral
The commentator reserved his strongest words for INEC. He said the commission must stay neutral and resist every attempt to drag it into partisan battles. If anyone, whether the APC, the PDP or any other interest, tries to manipulate or doctor official electoral documents, he said, INEC must protect the integrity of its records and follow the law.
“No political party should be allowed to use INEC as a weapon against its opponent,” he said. He added that no candidate should turn the commission into a shortcut to the ballot box, and no electoral official should compromise its credibility for political convenience.
He also reminded politicians that victory must be earned through lawful democratic processes and not presumed because an opponent is expected to vanish from the ballot. He said no political actor should claim divine authority for a predetermined outcome.
What Ogun residents want
Olufemi said people in Ogun State are already struggling with economic hardship and do not need a political war fought through alleged documents, anonymous sources and social media propaganda. They deserve an election built on facts, law and transparency, he said.
His position is that if the PDP register is being challenged, or INEC’s records are being relied upon, the commission itself should authenticate them. “Let the authentic documents speak, let INEC remain neutral, let the law prevail and let the people decide,” he said, warning that otherwise INEC would face the anger of the people.
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