Olushola Omogbehin
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refused the applications of 157 associations seeking registration as political parties because they failed to meet the requirements while 14 associations have successfully passed through the first stage of becoming political parties.
The decision followed INEC’s regular meeting held on Thursday, 11th September 2025, where the Commission also reviewed its preparations for upcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the end-of-tenure Area Council polls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, disclosed that the commission received 171 applications from associations seeking party registration.
The statement reads: “Each request was assessed based on its prima facie compliance with the provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Section 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act 2022, and Clause 2 (i and ii) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022.”
Among the 171 applications, only 14 are eligible to move to the next stage, while 157 failed the requirements. The Commission disclosed that the list of the 14 pre-qualified associations has been published on its official website and other information platforms.
According to Olumekun, the interim Chairmen and Secretaries of the associations that met the requirements have been invited to a briefing on 17th September 2025, at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja to provide them with further details on the next step to take.
Olumekun cautioned that success at the initial stage does not affirm final registration.
“In addition to uploading the required information to the portal, the commission will physically verify all claims by each association. The final determination of their eligibility will be made after this verification to ensure full compliance with the legal framework.”
The associations that passed the preliminary stage are, African Transformation Party (ATP); All Democratic Alliance (ADA); Advance Nigeria Congress (ANC); Abundance Social Party (ASP); African Alliance Party (AAP); Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), and Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA).
The others include Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP); Green Future Party (GFP); Liberation People’s Party (LPP); National Democratic Party (NDP); National Reform Party (NRP); Patriotic Peoples Alliance (PPA), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
INEC further maintained that political party registration is a continuous process under the law but associations must meet applied conditions such as maintaining a national headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory, having a unique name and logo, evidence of nationwide membership and presence and submitting a constitution and manifesto that are in consonance with democratic tenets.
