Ezenwa Nwagu, who serves as Executive Director at the Peering Advocacy and Advisory Centre in Africa, has voiced serious concerns about the credibility of many of the 110 associations currently applying for political party registration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He described most of these groups as “jokers,” highlighting that a significant number among them even listed addresses located in cemeteries. Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, the Chairman of INEC, had revealed during the Commission’s second quarterly meeting with the media on Wednesday that as of Monday, June 23, 2025, the Commission had officially received letters of intent from 110 different associations interested in attaining recognition as political parties. In a discussion with Arise News, Nwagu explained that there are firm conditions that must be fulfilled before such registrations can proceed, stressing that many of these associations completely lack even the basic organizational structures required. According to him, a disturbing number of these groups do not have acronyms, lack any substantive chairman, and are operating from fictitious or non-existent addresses. He emphasized: “While it is indeed within the democratic rights of people to associate, assemble, and aspire to become political parties, it cannot be treated as an all-comers’ game.” He continued by outlining that there are established hurdles enshrined in INEC’s party registration guidelines. These requirements, he noted, are crucial filters for ensuring that only serious and organized political bodies make it onto the ballot. Nwagu stated: “As the registrar of political parties, INEC has provided explicit guidelines that must be met before any association can transform into a recognized political party. When you examine these 110 applications, it becomes quite evident that the majority are not serious contenders at all.” He elaborated that the conditions are crystal clear, stating: “Firstly, an association must have a valid constitution. Secondly, it needs to have a functioning chairman and a working secretary. Thirdly, it must possess a physical address, which must also be properly declared in the application.” Yet upon reviewing the list released by INEC, he discovered that most of these organizations lacked acronyms, had no legitimate chairman, no valid addresses, and in several cases, the addresses they did provide turned out to be nonexistent. “I took my time to scrutinize those 110 applications, and I can tell you confidently that many of them are purely jokers,” he stressed. Nwagu further revealed that in some situations, lawyers applied on behalf of the associations, ignoring the requirement that a protem chairman and protem secretary should personally sign and submit the application. He went on to explain the next stages of the registration process: once the application is submitted, INEC will review and vet the details, similar to what happens at the Corporate Affairs Commission with company names. If the name checks out, the applicant is then asked to pay an administrative fee to INEC. Upon payment of this administrative fee, Nwagu explained that the INEC Chairman will issue a unique code to the applicant. This code allows access to an online platform where further details must be completed, including the party’s constitution, manifesto, as well as a list of members with their contact details such as phone numbers and email addresses. If the administrative fee is not paid, the application is immediately terminated. Nwagu recalled that in previous exercises, around 70 associations had even listed addresses situated inside cemeteries, describing it as utterly ridiculous and laughable.
