The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that 157 out of 171 associations, which applied to be registered as political parties, failed registration requirements.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, in a statement issued Thursday, said only 14 associations met the requirements, and they had been cleared to proceed to the next stage of the registration process.
The electoral body stressed that the interim chairmen and secretaries of the pre-qualified associations had been invited to a briefing next Wednesday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The 14 associations that scaled the first hurdle, according to INEC, were African Transformation Party (ATP), All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Advance Nigeria Congress (ANC), Abundance Social Party (ASP), African Alliance Party (APP), Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA).
Others were Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP), Green Future Party (GFP), Liberation Peoples Party (LPP), National Reform Party (NRP), Patriotic Peoples Alliance (PPA), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
The associations that failed to meet the requirements included African Alliance Party (AAP), National Advancement Party (NAP), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), The Nigerian Covenant (TNC), Democracy for Dividends Party (DDP), National Coalition of Democrats, African Renaissance Party (ARP), Peoples Interest Movement (PIM), Rescue Party (RP), and Guardian Democratic Party (GDP).
Also on the list, INEC said, were Save Nigeria Congress (SNC), National Democratic Liberation Party (NDLP), National Action Congress of Nigeria (NACN), Peoples Supremacy Party, African Future Alliance (AFAP) Party, Freedom Alliance Party (FAP), and People’s Community Development Party (PCDP).
Olumekun expalined, “A total of 171 requests for registration were received. Each request was assessed on the basis of 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.”
He stated “Out of the total number of applications received, 14 associations have met the requirements to proceed to the next stage while 157 have not.
“The commission shall officially communicate the decision arising from today’s meeting to all the associations in the next 24 hours.
“Meanwhile, the list of the 14 pre-qualified associations has been published on our website and other official platforms for public information.
“The interim Chairmen and Secretaries of the pre-qualified associations are invited to a briefing on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at 11am, at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja.
“In addition to uploading the required information to the portal, they will physically verify all claims by each association in line with our Regulations and Guidelines.”
The electoral body added that the final determination of the registrability of the associations as political parties would be made after the physical verification of all their claims to determine compliance with the legal framework.
It reiterated that party registration was a continuous process under the law, adding that the commission remains open to the consideration of applications that meet the criteria as provided by law.
INEC had last week said a shortlist of the pre-qualified associations was being finalised for the next stage of the application for registration.
The commission also urged the associations to avoid frequent changes to their logos, acronyms and addresses or one association submitting multiple requests.
“Worse, some associations have changed their interim leaderships, following defections to other associations or even existing political parties, thereby delaying the process,” it had said.
The commission had in July introduced a political party registration portal, which was a module in the Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System (PFRAS).
It explained that the online registration was introduced to make the process faster and seamless.
Adedayo Akinwale
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