Politics

2023: INEC Excludes 124 Parties From Participation

Published

3 years ago

May 8, 2022

Editor

No fewer than 124 political groups that applied for registration as political parties have been technically excluded from participating in the 2023 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Sunday PUNCH can confirm.

This, by implication, means that only the 18 parties that survived the commission’s last deregistration in 2020 will participate in the forthcoming elections.

It was reported on December 26, 2021, that 101 political associations had applied to the commission for registration. The Deputy Director, SERVICOM at INEC, Olayide Okuonghae, in his response to a Freedom of Information request sent by Sunday PUNCH, said the 101 associations applied between 2019 and December 14, 2021.

His response read in part, “In reference to your letter dated December 9, 2021, the commission wishes to inform you that from 2019 to December 14, 2021, a total of 101 political associations forwarded their letters of intent to be registered as political parties.”

Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, confirmed the development to one of our correspondents in December, but noted that the commission could not reveal the names of the associations because they had not been approved as political parties.

It was, however, learnt that 23 more political associations applied for registration between December 14, 2021, and March 25, 2022.

An INEC interim report sighted by one of our correspondents showed that as of March 25, 2022, no fewer than 124 applications were received by the commission. However, none of the associations has been registered.

The report read in part, “As of March 2022, the commission had on record a total of 124 letters of intent from various political associations seeking to apply for registration as political parties. The summary of the status of the associations is that 97 associations out of 116 have been advised that their proposed names, acronyms or logos were not suitable or available for registration.

“Eleven of the associations that received letters of non-suitability of their proposed names/acronyms/logos resubmitted letters of intent with amended names/acronyms/logos. Sixteen associations submitted fresh letters of intent.”

Asked whether INEC would still register new political parties before the 2023 elections, Oyekanmi said on Friday that the final decision on whether or not to register a new political party before the elections rested exclusively with the commission, a system he said he would not pre-empt.

He said, “The submission of an application by an association or group for registration as a political party is the starting point of an elaborate and rigorous process. It, therefore, takes time and a lot of effort from when an application is submitted to the day the certificate of registration is given.

“Section 75 of the Electoral Act, 2022 says any political association that complies with the provisions of the constitution and the Act for the purposes of registration shall be registered as a political party provided, however, that such an application for registration shall be duly submitted to the commission not later than 12 months before a general election.”

The 2023 General Elections Project Plan launched by INEC last month also projects 18 political parties for next year’s elections.

With June 3, 2022, as INEC’s deadline for political parties to conclude their primaries, it seems clear that no new party will be able to participate in the general elections.

Several calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages sent to the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, for response were not picked or replied to.

However, a National Commissioner in INEC, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, affirmed that only 18 political parties would partake in the elections.

He said, “Any party that registers now can never be for the 2023 elections because the timetable for the primaries is running already; the primaries must end on June 3, that’s less than a month. So, I don’t see how a party that is registered now will be able to meet up with all of these requirements.

“Don’t forget that they also have to bring the register of their members. So, if they are registered now, when are they going to do all of these?”

Asked to confirm if only 18 political parties would participate in the 2023 elections, he said, “Absolutely, that’s what is going to happen, because the timetable can no longer accommodate them (new members).”

A Resident Electoral Commissioner, who also did not want his name mentioned, said the commission would not reject any valid application for registration, but that its timetable could exclude any new party from participating in certain elections.

He said, “I don’t think INEC is in the position to turn them down. The only thing is whether or not they will be on the ballot. Maybe by the time they finish the process, it will be too late. If party primaries are over before they register as political parties, automatically they are out. Party primaries are to end on June 3, so automatically any political party that is set up after the primaries have been concluded cannot take part in the elections.”

Another source in the commission dismissed any insinuation that INEC delayed in registering the parties to avoid complications in its guidelines and preparations for the 2023 elections.

Prior to the fresh applications, INEC had on February 6, 2020 deregistered 74 political parties due to their poor performance in the 2019 general elections and the re-run elections that followed.

Yakubu said in addition to the extant provision for the registration of political parties, the Fourth Alteration to Section 225(a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowered the commission to deregister political parties.

Ninety-one political parties participated in the 2019 general elections, while an additional one, the Boot Party, was registered based on the order of a court after the polls.

“Accordingly, 74 political parties are hereby deregistered. With this development, Nigeria now has 18 registered political parties,” Yakubu had said.

He recalled that between 2011 and 2013, INEC deregistered a total of 39 political parties based on the same provision. The Supreme Court, on May 7 upheld an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal, which okayed the deregistration of the National Unity Party and 73 others. The appeal was filed by the NUP and others.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro, the Supreme Court said the deregistration of the parties was done in line with the laws and in compliance with the extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.

The judgment, delivered by a five-man panel led by Justice Mary Odili, said INEC was empowered by Section 225 (a) of the constitution to de-register any political party that failed to meet the relevant requirements. The apex court then dismissed the parties’ appeal.

However, a staff member of the commission, who did not want his name mentioned, said INEC had the responsibility of registering political parties but that people should also consider joining existing parties.

“Studies show clearly that in any democracy where you have one to three dominant political parties, the moment the elite begin to form more political parties, you are only increasing the chances of those dominant parties, even though they may not be liked by the people,” he stated.

Asked for the solution, he said, “People should join the political parties and not go and form theirs. In the last Osun State governorship election in 2018, there were 25 political parties, whereas 18 participated. If you check, you will find out that the two major parties led the others despite the way people criticised them.”

It’s risky for parties to change congress, primaries’ dates – INEC

Meanwhile, less than four weeks to the deadline for political parties to hold their primaries, INEC has said it is now risky for any party to change the dates of its congresses, conventions and primaries.

Okoye had in a statement a few days ago said that in compliance with Section 82 (1) of the Electoral Act (2022), all the 18 political parties had served the required notices indicating the dates for their conventions, congresses, and primaries for the purpose of nominating candidates for various elective offices as specified in the constitution and the Electoral Act.

Asked if political parties could still change the dates for those exercises, Oyekanmi said on Friday, “It’s not advisable for any political party to change the date of its convention, congress, or primary election at this time. The deadline for the conduct of party primaries for the 2023 general elections is June 3, 2022.

“The Electoral Act, 2022 states that parties must give the commission at least 21 days’ notice. What this means is that political parties have until May 13, 2022 to give the commission a notice. In my opinion, waiting till the last moment to do the needful is always risky.”

PUNCH.

Related Topics:#INEC #Political parties 2023 elections

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Politics

Edo: Chief Ben Bowei Sworn In As Vice Chairman, Ovia South-West

Published

1 hour ago

September 29, 2025

Editor

High Chief Ben Bowei (Left) taking oath of office at the council secretariat on Monday

An Activist and politician, High Chief Ben Bowei has been sworn in as Vice Chairman, Ovia South-West Local Government Council of Edo State.

Bowei, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), deputises Hon. Nosakhare Edobor who happens to be the Chairman of the council.

The Vice Chairman, a committed member of the APC in the local government and state, is expected to bring his wealth of experience to bear on the local government council being a former National Treasurer of the most respected youth body in west Africa — Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide.

Bowei, an advocate and promoter of governance, is the founder of Niger Delta Volunteer for Good Governance, said he’s poised in promoting good governance and taking the dividends of democracy to the most interior part of the local government.

The Vice Chairman urged sons and daughters of the local government to cooperate with the council’s leadership in their bid to extend the dividends of democracy to them.

Bowei, while appreciating governor Monday Okpebholo and his deputy, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, for the good work the current administration has been doing in the state, expressed optimism that the current state government would perform beyond expectations.

Politics

90% Of Nigeria’s Elections Since Independence Rigged — Ex-lawmaker

Published

23 hours ago

September 28, 2025

Editor

A lawyer and former member of the National Assembly, Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah, has said that over ninety per cent of all elections so far held in Nigeria, from independence to date, have been brazenly rigged or perverted, thus causing the mass poverty and underdevelopment being experienced in the country.

Senator Obiorah, who represented Anambra South Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011 in the National Assembly, blamed the non-existence of honest, transparent, free and fair elections in Nigeria for the mass poverty and gross underdevelopment in the nation presently.

The lawyer and author stated this in his treatise on “The Philosophy of Elections and Nigeria’s Fake Democracy”, made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.

Worried by this development, the erstwhile federal lawmaker has proposed a constitutional amendment that will ensure the power to appoint electoral bodies – Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) – is taken away from both the President and Governors and vested in a neutral body which would set in motion processes to lift Nigeria out of poverty.

He stated that a proposed bill to that effect had already been sent to both the Senate and the House of Representatives for prompt legislative action.

He pointed out that had the people been allowed to exercise the power to freely elect their leaders since 1960, Nigeria would by now be a fully developed nation by first-world standards and in all ramifications.

According to him, “Since independence, 90 per cent of all elections – Parliamentary, Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship, House of Assembly, Local Government Council elections – have been brazenly stolen or rigged or perverted or altogether thwarted or nullified.

“Nigerians have never really and voluntarily chosen their leaders, nor have Nigerians ever been governed with their proper consent and participation. The absence of honest elections makes ours a fake democracy, period. In Nigeria, the simple but painful cause of stealing and rigging of elections is that those vested with power to appoint the electoral bodies and personnel were themselves or their political parties or their preferred candidates, contestants in the same elections. It is just like making a person a judge in his own case.

“Right from independence, the then Prime Minister, and later the President, was always cloaked with the power to appoint the commissioners and senior officers of the electoral bodies responsible for the conduct of all elections in Nigeria.

“However, by virtue of the 1999 Constitution, the power of appointing the state electoral bodies responsible for conducting local government elections was transferred to the State Governors. Consequently, the world has been witnessing the Soviet Union-style results declared from Nigeria’s local government elections, where the Governor’s political party, in most cases, scores a 100 per cent victory.

“The world has also been hearing loud cries and protestations against rigging and seeing the avalanche of court cases that attend all other elections in Nigeria for which the President appoints the electoral bodies and officers,” he noted.

He added that “it is very important to make the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results via INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) legally mandatory in the conduct of Nigerian elections.”

Senator Obiorah pointed out that “these systems cannot solve the problem of election rigging without the electoral bodies’ neutrality and integrity because BVAS and IReV are vulnerable to manipulation.”

As a way out of this problem, Senator Obiorah is proposing that the power for the appointment of electoral bodies be taken away from both the Governors and the President and vested in a neutral body which would set in motion processes to lift Nigeria out of poverty.

According to him, “I do, most humbly, propose a constitutional amendment to provide for the establishment of a new, truly and literally Independent National Electoral Commission (new INEC), charged with the responsibility of conducting all elections for all elected offices in the three tiers of government – the Federal, State and Local Government.

“I do, also, propose that the new INEC be composed and constituted by thirteen commissioners, six of whom would be elected by the underlisted six Nigerian labour and professional organisations, and six commissioners nominated by the United Nations, and one commissioner-observer nominated by Transparency International, totalling thirteen commissioners.

“The new INEC would have the power to elect and remove its Chairman and hire and fire all staff, including the Chief Executive Officer.

“The election of six commissioners by the underlisted Nigerian labour and professional organisations is arranged in a corresponding alphabetical order as follows:

READ ALS:

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North Central geopolitical zone;

The Academic Staff Union of Universities would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North East geopolitical zone;

The Institute of Chartered Accountants would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North West geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Bar Association would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South East geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Medical Association would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South South geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Union of Journalists would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South West geopolitical zone.

He clarified that nominations from the United Nations and Transparency International would definitely not violate Nigeria’s sovereignty, because those nominations would not be imposed by any sort of force; rather, it is Nigeria as a sovereign nation that would voluntarily request these nominations.

He stated further that the UN and Transparency International would be positively disposed to acceding to Nigeria’s request because, like other development institutions, they rightly regard stealing or rigging of elections as the worst and most destructive kind of all corrupt practices. He noted that the UN, having directly organised the establishment, manning and management of some anti-corruption programmes and institutions in various countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador, would be pleased to participate in such a liberating effort in Nigeria.

Senator Obiorah also recalled that the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, not long ago, dispatched a letter to the United Nations requesting the UN’s establishment and management of an International Commission against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, for which a memorandum of understanding has been signed by both parties in furtherance of that cooperation.

He added that the United Nations and Transparency International would not nominate any Nigerian citizen or any person indigenous to Nigeria, saying that “It would be the job of the President to receive and collate the names and curriculum vitae of the nominees for transmission to the Senate and House of Representatives for confirmation.

According to him, “No nominee or nominee-elect would be rejected or impeached by the National Assembly except by concurrent resolutions supported by at least two-thirds majority of all Senators and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives, respectively, voting individually in person by a secret ballot and televised in real time. Voice vote for this exercise would be prohibited.

“The tenure of office of a commissioner would not exceed four years. It must be made clear that the establishment of the new INEC would not be a setback in the strides for devolution of powers to the States.”

Politics

Probe Natasha’s Allegations Against Akpabio, Afenifere Urges FG

Published

3 days ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has urged the Federal Government to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The call followed the Senate’s decision to lift Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.

This, Afenifere said should not overshadow the need to establish the truth of her claims.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Afenifere’s National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu, said the senator’s recall reflected commitment to the rule of law.

“We commend the Senate President, His Excellency Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate leadership for taking a decision that further reinforces the country’s rule of law,” Omololu said.

The group, however, insisted that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations must not be ignored.

“For over six months, where are the facts and evidence of her grave allegations?” Afenifere asked.

It called on the “Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to carry out a full investigation into the matter.”

Afenifere also recalled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s past false sexual harassment claims against former presidential aide Reno Omokri, which ended in an out-of-court settlement.

“Does this not suggest that, without proof, her allegations against Akpabio are suspicious?” Omololu asked.

The group further criticised Akpoti-Uduaghan for taking her claims to international media, including BBC, CNN, Sky News and Deutsche Welle, saying the move portrayed Nigeria negatively abroad.

It also queried her participation in a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York.

“If Natasha truly participated in the IPU meeting without due nomination, then it simply revealed her compromise or manipulation of our public institutions for pecuniary ends,” the group said.

In March 2025, Natasha was suspended for six months after a row in plenary and her petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.

She claimed the incident happened in December 2023, but the Senate’s Ethics Committee dismissed her petition on procedural grounds. Despite a court order halting disciplinary action, the Senate went ahead with her suspension, which also froze her pay and barred her from official duties.

Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged the suspension in court, insisting it was tied to her allegations. While the Senate said it acted over misconduct, the case attracted global attention after she granted interviews to international media. The matter remains unsettled, with Afenifere now urging federal authorities to investigate her claims.

Meanwhile, Natasha formally resumed her duties at the National Assembly on October 7, 2025, after her six-month suspension ended – and immediately claimed that Akpabio is a dictator.

And almost immediately, Akpabio’s media aide Kenny Okolugbo debunked the claim.