…calls for data-driven governance
By Sodiq Adelakun
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday stressed the importance of database and measurable outcomes in managing both governance and party structures as he flagged off the All Progressives Congress (APC) E-Registration Hands-on Device/Application, themed: “Train-The-Trainer” for the South-West Zone.
The party’s National Secretary, Senator Basiru Ajibola, led members of the APC National Working Committee to the flag-off ceremony held at the State House, Marina. The Lagos State Chairman of the APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, party secretaries from the six South-West states, and other working committee members were also in attendance.
The workshop, aimed at building capacity for the digitisation of the party’s membership database, will be held across the six states in the region.
The move is also being embarked upon to recalibrate the party’s member registration process, drive inclusive representation, and promote demographic diversity.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, stated this while speaking at the event, saying that the automation of APC’s system would help measure its full strength in any electoral process.
The governor underscored the significance of accurate data collection and management in sustaining effective governance and party organisation, declaring that whatever cannot be measured cannot be managed.
According to him, automation of APC’s system would help measure its full strength in any electoral process, noting that a data-driven system was one of the governance legacies initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while serving as Governor of Lagos State.
Governor Sanwo-Olu charged the APC, at every level, to embrace the same approach in pushing its governance objectives and measuring its political progress, saying the exercise was particularly important and necessary for the party to be able to know and identify its true members.
The governor urged those charged with responsibility to manage the process to ensure the outcome of the workshop reflected the expectations of the party’s leadership, even as he reaffirmed that the Lagos State Government was committed to effective data management, transparency, and people-centred governance.
He also urged participants of the programme to strengthen the systems in order to ensure continued winning for the party.
Sanwo-Olu, while commending President Bola Tinubu for implementing tasking but necessary reforms, particularly in the petroleum and financial/economic sectors, said the reforms were now yielding positive results as citizens were beginning to see the benefits.
He, therefore, urged members of the APC to continue to support and defend the policies of the current administration, assuring that the reforms being implemented would yield long-term benefits for Nigerians.
National Secretary of the APC, Senator Basiru Ajibola, described the programme as a vital step towards institutionalising accuracy, transparency, and structure in party administration, emphasising that a political party must maintain an authentic and verifiable membership database to ensure credibility and effective participation in democratic processes.
Basiru said the programme signified that a political party was not just a consortium but a membership-based organisation, which must have an accurate database and demographic spread of its membership.
He declared that the APC “remains focused on strengthening its structures nationwide and positioning itself as a model of progressive governance through verifiable data, innovation, and inclusiveness.”
The party chieftain further noted that the E-Registration programme, which marked the conclusion of the zonal training series, underscores the APC’s commitment to capacity building and political education.
He urged participants to take the training seriously, as it would equip them with the tools needed to mobilise, organise, and sensitise members across the region.
Chairman of the Lagos State APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, in his welcome address, noted that the programme was going to further deepen the country’s democracy through accurate record keeping and data-driven policies that would place the party in a leadership position.
The party chieftain argued that for any political party to continue to be relevant in today’s democratic world, it must continually develop technology and modernise its operations, as the APC was currently doing.
He stressed that accurate record keeping and data management were key components of contemporary party administration, as members can now operate more virtually due to increased internet access.
