The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has reaffirmed its commitment to impartiality in processing applications from the 110 political associations seeking registration as political parties.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the assurance during the second quarterly consultative meeting with media executives held Wednesday in Abuja.
Yakubu said the Commission would treat all applications equitably, regardless of the social standing of their promoters.
“We will treat all requests fairly irrespective of the status of their promoters, be they ordinary or prominent citizens. Nigerians will be fully briefed of the actions taken by the Commission every step of the way.
“As at Monday, 23rd June 2025, the Commission has received letters of intent from 110 associations that wish to register as political parties. We are diligently processing the requests in line with the procedure outlined in the law as well as our Regulations and Guidelines.
“We have acknowledged all requests received so far except six of them received recently which will be done before the end of the week. For emphasis, I wish to inform Nigerians, particularly those interested in registering new political parties, that the handbook containing the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022is already available on the Commission’s website,” Yakubu stated.
According to Yakubu, all submissions, except six received recently, have been acknowledged, with the rest expected to be processed before the week ends.
He urged stakeholders to consult the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022, available on INEC’s website, for a clear understanding of the registration process.
His remarks follow recent complaints from promoters of some proposed parties, who allege undue delays and bureaucratic obstacles in the registration process.
On the delays over registration of new parties, Yakubu dismissed insinuations of bias, recalling similar allegations from 2013 which, he noted, were unfounded, reaffirming the Commission’s dedication to upholding the law.
“For the record, the present Commission registered the largest number of political parties in Nigeria strictly following the provision of the electoral legal framework. For the 2019 General Election, there were 91 political parties and 73 presidential candidates.
“The Commission was criticised in some quarters for registering too many political parties. After the election, the Commission also deregistered over 70 political parties as provided by law. We wish to reassure Nigerians that under the current situation, we will continue to be guided by law and act with fairness to all associations seeking registration as political parties. ,” he explained.
Yakubu disclosed that INEC is now ready to conduct pending bye-elections and resume the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, nationwide, adding that full details will be released within 24 hours.
For transparency, Yakubu announced that the Commission is releasing a detailed list of all 110 associations, complete with their proposed names, acronyms, addresses, and names of their protem chairmen and secretaries
He said the information will be made available on INEC’s official platforms and in hard copy for meeting participants.
The INEC Chairman also used the opportunity to brief media executives on ongoing electoral activities, stating that the primaries for the forthcoming Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, which will conclude on June 30, as well as the build-up to the November 8 Anambra State governorship election, for which political campaigns have already commenced.
Yakubu urged media organizations to begin applying for accreditation for the Anambra poll as soon as the portal opens, in order to avoid delays in processing access tags.
