The Labour Party (LP) said it is launching a mobile App to fast-track registration of members across the country.
This was contained in a statement signed by the deputy director Media and Communications of the Labour Party Mobilisation & Integration Directorate, Amb AJU Elumelu.
The move is sequel to a proposal by party’s directorate on Mobilisation and Integration signed by its director general, Mr. Marcel Ngogbehei, and sent to the LP National Working Committee (NWC), through the party’s national chairman, Bar. Julius Abure.
The proposal said it’s time to transform the operations of the party into a world class organisation, comparable to international standards.
On receiving the proposal, Abure promised to give it accelerated action, saying the party is more focused on building and expanding its structures across the country and preparing to win the 2027 Presidential election with Peter Obi. He said the App will be the game changer.
Abure expressed satisfaction with the initiative, saying it will enable millions of electorates to register with less troubles and participate in party congresses and conventions.
The mobile App will facilitate seamless registration from anywhere in the world, and provide a platform for direct engagement between party members and leaders, help validate membership data on the go, and could also be a source of verifiable data which the party can use to organise ward, state and national congresses and conventions and also support the polling unit agents management.
“This platform will give the necessary assurances as per the realtime membership figures across the globe at any point in time; giving an indication of the party’s membership and voting strength”, Abure noted.
In today’s digital age, political parties need efficient and modern tools to manage their membership process and data, the directorate asserted that traditional methods of membership registration are often cumbersome and outdated, this traditional method usually involve party members travelling to their various Wards with the associated travel cost and risk, extensive paperwork and expensive printing of membership cards by the party, manual data entry, and all this can lead to errors and delays when validating membership status and transmitting Membership data to INEC or showing the membership strength of the party.
They advised the general public to beware of scammers who often pose as party officials as the app will eliminate all cases of misrepresentation and misinformation.
Once approved, the directorate intends to hold a stakeholder requirement elicitation exercise to ensure all stakeholders peculiar requirements are captured and inculcated. Even those in the rural areas without internet connection and without a smart phone can use the USSD facility to interact with the Labour Party Mobile App; while others can be assisted through outpost that will be setup in rural communities.
The Labour Party Directorate on Mobilization & Integration has set a target to mobilize millions of intending members into the Labour Party within the shortest possible time, and an online real-time membership registration platform, which will provide facilities to allow ward level membership validation by ward chairmen has become a key requirement.
“We propose developing a mobile application specifically designed for Labour Party membership registration, membership validation using uniquely assigned QR Codes. Party membership can simply be validated by scanning the party members QR codes on the spot, using any mobile device. This can be used to vet party members for congresses and conventions, thereby eliminating the malpractices often involved with this process. This Labour Party Mobile App will streamline the registration process, facilitate membership profile management, and provide a platform for engagement between party members and leaders.
“The teaming population of our Members and potential members both in Nigeria and Diaspora expect digital solutions that are easy to use, secure, and accessible on-the-go, where they can register and track their membership status and keep in touch with Party information and activities”, the proposal stated.
The directorate also stated that the mobile App will also enable registered members of the party to access exclusive membership content and participate in party activities. The members of the party will also receive updates, chat with their Labour Party elected representatives in realtime, communicate with party leadership representatives across board.
The Labour Party Directorate on Mobilization & Integration hopes that this App will help everyone to register and be captured at ease, in the comfort of their homes or anywhere, with any mobile phone ; reducing the stress on the electorates and empowering the citizens and facilitating massive participation in Governance.