The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that 110 associations have sent their letters of intent, seeking to register as political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced during the quarterly consultative meeting with media executives, held at the INEC conference room in
The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that 110 associations have sent their letters of intent, seeking to register as political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced during the quarterly consultative meeting with media executives, held at the INEC conference room in Abuja on Wednesday, 25th June 2025, that the commission has established the regulations for the procedure.
Professor Yakubu denied that the commission is blocking new associations from becoming political parties, stating that all but six recent letters of intent have been acknowledged by the electoral body.
“One of the topical issues on election administration in our country today is the status of the letters of intent we received from associations seeking registration as political parties amidst partisan insinuations in some quarters that the Commission is equivocating on the matter in a manner that compromises our independence. Nothing can be further from the truth.
As of 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,” he announced.
“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 2022 is already available on the Commission’s website.”
Professor Yakubu announced that the commission will publish on its website the complete list of the 110 associations applying for political party registration, along with their proposed names, abbreviations, addresses, and the names of their deputy chairmen and secretaries.
Recall that the electoral body has come under criticism from the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who accused INEC chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu of blocking the registration of new political parties. Mr Amaechi, who spoke on national television, said that, unlike the former INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, the current administration of the electoral body has refused to be transparent.
Addressing the critics, Professor Yakubu maintained that his administration has the highest number of political parties in Nigeria, stressing that before the 2019 general election, there were 91 political parties and 73 presidential candidates. He stated that the commission was criticised for having the numbers of the party, but he maintained that with the procedure of the law, some of the parties were later deregistered.
“One of the topical issues on election administration in our country today is the status of the letters of intent we received from associations seeking registration as political parties amidst partisan insinuations in some quarters that the Commission is equivocating on the matter in a manner that compromises our independence. Nothing can be further from the truth. Nigerians may recall that the same unfounded accusation was made under similar circumstances in 2013: that the Commission was not keen on the proposed merger of political parties because INEC had “merged with the ruling party” at the time, he said.
“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. We will treat all requests fairly, irrespective of the status of their promoters, be they ordinary or prominent citizens. Nigerians will be fully briefed on the actions taken by the Commission every step of the way.”
The Chairman of INEC emphasised the commission’s readiness for the Anambra off-cycle governorship election, scheduled for November 8, 2025. He stated that the commission has lifted the ban on campaign activities for political parties in the state.
“The Commission will continue to update you on these and other electoral activities. I urge you to monitor these activities. At the same time, I wish to appeal to you to promptly upload your applications for accreditation of media personnel for the Anambra State Governorship election holding on Saturday, 8th November 2025, as soon as the portal opens, so that we can process and deliver your accreditation tags well ahead of the election.
