The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it received letters of intent from 110 associations seeking registration as political parties in Nigeria.
The disclosure was made by INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, during a consultative meeting with media executives held in Abuja on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
According to Professor Yakubu, the applications were received as of Monday, June 23, and are currently being processed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the Commission’s regulations and guidelines.
“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,” Yakubu stated.
He further revealed that while most of the requests had been acknowledged, six recent submissions were still pending acknowledgment, which he assured would be completed before the end of the week. INEC, he said, remains committed to treating all applications fairly, irrespective of the status of the applicants.
“We will treat all requests fairly, irrespective of the status of their promoters, be they ordinary or prominent citizens,” he affirmed.
While publishing the list of the 110 proposed political associations on its official website and social media handles, INEC highlighted several issues in the applications. These include overlapping or clashing names and acronyms, incomplete documentation, and violations of its registration guidelines.
Some of the associations submitted applications with names or acronyms that were either too similar to each other or bore resemblance to previously deregistered parties, which is against INEC’s regulations. The Commission specifically flagged instances where proposed parties submitted identical or confusingly similar acronyms.
For example, two separate applications were submitted under the name Obidient Peoples Party, suggesting possible duplication. In another case, two factions of the Republican Party of Nigeria submitted different applications, each with distinct leadership and addresses.
One group was led by Col Vincent Enemoma Abu and Buhari Yakubu with an office located in Mabushi, Abuja, while the other group, led by MD Coma and Chief Abu Ali, listed an address behind Utako Market.
Further scrutiny revealed that 40 applications were missing a protem national secretary, five did not include a protem national chairman, and seven lacked both. Four associations failed to provide an official address, while one application was submitted without a party logo—another violation of INEC’s guidelines.
In a notable example of duplication, three different applications—New Green Generation Party, New Green Congress, and New Green Coalition Party—listed the same individuals, Mallam Idris Abdulkarim and Ambassador Crystal Ikechukwu Ogu, as protem national chairman and secretary respectively.
Among the proposed parties, one named All Democratic Alliance reportedly enjoys the backing of several high-profile political figures. These include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
Another group, believed to be backed by supporters of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, submitted a registration request under a closely related name, raising additional concerns about potential acronym and identity conflicts.
INEC reminded stakeholders that its guidelines strictly prohibit the use of identical acronyms and require that all applications include names of party officers, not just legal representatives or conveners.
The list of aspiring political parties is wide-ranging, reflecting a variety of ideological leanings, regional interests, and thematic focuses. Some of the names on the list include:
Key of Freedom Party
Absolute Congress
All Grassroot Party
Congress Action Party
United Social Democrats Party
National Action Congress
New Nigeria Congress
United People’s Victory Party
Allied Conservative Congress
Peoples Freedom Party
All Nigeria’s Party
Citizens Party of Nigeria
National Freedom Party
Patriots Party
Movement of the People
Peoples National Congress
Alliance of Patriots
African Union Congress
Socialist Equality Party
About Nigeria Party
Accelerated Africa Development Association
Obedient People’s Party
Zonal Rescue Movement
Zuma Reform
Party for Socialist Transformation
Liberation Peoples Party
Progressive Obedient Party
Great Nigeria Party
National Youth Alliance
National Reform Party
Patriotic Congress Party
Advance Nigeria Congress
Team New Nigeria
About All Nigeria
Citizen United Congress
All Gender Party
Polling Units Ambassadors of Nigeria
Village Intelligence Party
Great Transformation Party
Marina Multipurpose Cooperative Society
Alliance Youth Party of Nigeria
The True Democrats
Access Party
Far Right Party
Democratic Peoples Party
United Citizens Congress
Reset Nigeria
Save Nigeria People Party
Above All
Alliance for Youth and Women
Rebuild Nigeria Group
Patriotic Nigeria Party
Guardian Party
Peace, Unity and Prosper Culture
The Populist
People’s Emancipation Party
Peoples Democratic Congress
Professor Yakubu also used the occasion to brief media executives on INEC’s ongoing electoral activities. He announced that the Commission is now fully prepared to conduct outstanding by-elections and resume the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
“I am glad to announce that the Commission is now in a position to conduct the by-elections and to resume the nationwide CVR. The Commission met yesterday, and we are finalising the details of the two activities which will be made public in the next 24 hours,” he said.
He further appreciated the media for their continued support and encouraged them to maintain their role in promoting transparency and democratic accountability.
The INEC Chairman also confirmed that party primaries for the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory are ongoing and are scheduled to conclude by June 30, 2025. Elections will be held in 68 constituencies, covering chairmen and their deputies across six area councils—Abaji, Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali—as well as 62 wards.
On the forthcoming Anambra State Governorship Election scheduled for November 8, 2025, Yakubu reminded the media that campaigns commenced on June 11 and will end at midnight on November 6. He urged journalists to begin uploading their accreditation applications as soon as the portal opens.