Out of 171 groups seeking recognition as political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected 157 applications, allowing only 14 associations to advance to the next stage of registration.
INEC announced the decision on Thursday in a statement signed by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.
He said the Commission subjected all requests to constitutional, legal, and regulatory scrutiny before reaching its verdict.
The 14 groups that scaled through the preliminary assessment include the African Transformation Party (ATP), All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Advance Nigeria Congress (ANC), Abundance Social Party (ASP), African Alliance Party (AAP), Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), and Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA).
Others are the Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP), Green Future Party (GFP), Liberation People’s Party (LPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), National Reform Party (NRP), Patriotic Peoples Alliance (PPA), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
Olumekun clarified that this clearance is not equivalent to full registration, stressing that INEC will still carry out physical verification of all claims made by the associations before granting final approval.
“The Commission will communicate this decision to all 171 associations within the next 24 hours,” he said, adding that the list of the 14 pre-qualified groups has been published on INEC’s website and official platforms.
He also invited interim chairmen and secretaries of the pre-qualified associations to a briefing at INEC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, where the next steps in the verification process will be outlined.
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