Just-in: INEC Publishes List of 110 Associations Seeking Political Party Registration

By Iyojo Ameh

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the full list of 110 political associations seeking registration as political parties in Nigeria.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this disclosure on Wednesday during the second quarterly consultative meeting with media executives at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

“For transparency and public information, the list will be uploaded to our website and social media platforms shortly,” Prof. Yakubu announced. Hard copies were also distributed to media participants at the meeting.

The list contains proposed names, acronyms, addresses, and the names of the protem Chairmen and Secretaries of the various groups. Prof. Yakubu reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to transparency, dismissing suggestions that the Commission was compromising its independence or stalling the registration process.

“Some partisan insinuations claim we are equivocating on the matter. Nothing can be further from the truth,” he said. “We assure Nigerians that all applications will be treated fairly, regardless of the status of their promoters—be they ordinary or prominent citizens.”

Prof. Yakubu recalled that similar unfounded accusations were made in 2013, alleging INEC had merged with the ruling party, adding that the current Commission had, in fact, registered the highest number of political parties for the 2019 elections—91 in total—while later deregistering over 70 in accordance with the law.

The INEC chairman also updated the media on two ongoing electoral activities. First is the conduct of political party primaries for the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, which are scheduled to end on Monday, June 30, 2025.

The election will be held across 68 constituencies in six Area Councils—Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali—and 62 wards. AMAC has 12 wards due to its higher population, while the remaining councils have 10 wards each.

The second electoral activity is the Anambra State governorship election, for which campaigns officially began on June 11, 2025. Campaigning will continue until midnight on Thursday, November 6, ahead of the election slated for Saturday, November 8, 2025.

INEC called on media organisations to begin submitting accreditation applications for the Anambra election as soon as the portal opens. “This will allow us to process and deliver accreditation tags well in advance,” Yakubu said.

Prof. Yakubu noted that, as of Monday, June 23, INEC had received letters of intent from 110 political associations. He added that the Commission had acknowledged all applications except six, which were received recently and will be acknowledged before the end of the week.

He reminded interested groups that the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties (2022) handbook is publicly available on the Commission’s website.

In his closing remarks, the INEC chairman disclosed that the Commission is now ready to resume the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and conduct outstanding bye-elections.

“The Commission met yesterday, and we are finalising the details of the two activities,” he said. “These will be announced publicly within the next 24 hours.”

Prof. Yakubu thanked media executives for their consistent support and encouraged them to continue monitoring and reporting on electoral activities across the country.