Isaac Samuel
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday, said 14 associations seeking to register as political parties have been cleared to proceed to the next stage of the registration process, while 157 others were rejected for failing to meet constitutional and legal requirements.
The Commission, in a statement signed by National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, disclosed that out of 171 requests received, only 14 scaled through the preliminary assessment.
According to document released by INEC , those cleared include 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).
Others were 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).
Olumekun said each application was scrutinised against Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (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 explained that the clearance does not amount to full registration, stressing that the final determination of their registrability would only be made after INEC’s physical verification of all claims made by the groups.
He said: “The Commission held its regular meeting today, Thursday September 11, 2025. In addition to reviewing our preparations for forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections and the end-of-tenure Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the meeting also considered the report of its Committee on the Review of Letters of Intent from associations seeking registration as political parties.
“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.
“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.
Olumekun said interim Chairmen and Secretaries of the pre-qualified associations are invited to a briefing on Wednesday September, 17 2025, 11am, at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, in addition to uploading the required information to the portal, the will physically verify all claims by each association in line with our Regulations and Guidelines.
“The final determination of the registrability of the associations as political parties will be made after the physical verification of all their claims to determine compliance with the legal framework.
“We wish to reiterate that party registration is a continuous process under the law. The Commission remains open to the consideration of applications that meet the criteria as provided by law”, he said.
