As momentum builds ahead of the 2027 elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed it has received 91 applications for the registration of new political parties.

The Peoples Democratic Party stated that the number of applications received by INEC reflected a lack of unity among opposition leaders, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party called it a testament to the incompetence of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The Labour Party, however, welcomed the development but called on INEC to carefully review all applications before proceeding with registration.

But the All Progressives Congress claimed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was behind the move, asserting that it would come to nothing as the party was confident of winning the 2027 elections.

The announcement was made amid accusations from opposition groups, who alleged that INEC was intentionally obstructing the registration of new political parties in preparation for the 2027 general elections.

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A key figure in the opposition coalition and former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress for the North-West, Salihu Lukman, said registered political parties, which did not meet the electoral threshold by winning a seat in the previous general elections, are at risk of being deregistered.

In his statement, Lukman emphasised that, “The question of negotiating the political party is the most difficult challenge. This is an area that many members of the coalitions have been engaging in different ways for more than a year now.

“Perhaps, it is important to highlight that there are many groups, including some members of the coalition, who have filed applications to register political parties. For reasons best known to INEC, these applications are being frustrated.

“The only conclusion that can be reached in the circumstance is that INEC has decided that it will not register new parties.”

Recall that on March 20, 2025 presidential candidates  Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai announced the formation of a coalition aimed at challenging President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

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In an exclusive interview on Wednesday, INEC’s Election and Parties Monitoring Department, through the Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said no applications had been rejected.

In response to these accusations, INEC’s EPM department stated “No application was rejected. We have received 91 as of today.”

In his response, PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, emphasized that opposition leaders do not need multiple political parties to remove the ruling APC, but rather a strong and united platform.

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Osadolor described the effort to register new political parties as unnecessary and wasteful.

He stated, “It shows a disconnect, a major disconnect among the opposition leaders and figures. The truth is this, you don’t need 500 political parties, you don’t even need 20, you don’t even need five, you don’t even need three to defeat APC. All you need is one formidable opposition party to challenge the power and empower those who can run the country.

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“For me, having 91 applications means that in the end, INEC may end up with 40, or whatever the case may be. But again, does that solve our problem? It does not. And if it does not solve our problem, why waste our time over it? So I think it’s highly unnecessary.

“What they should do right now is focus more on how to harmonize. And have a much more formidable platform, wherein the chance of victory will be more assured than in this current division.

“There is need for INEC to look at the figures and characters behind them. Some just want to be on the ballot without even knowing why they are on the ballot. Others genuinely want the best for Nigeria but lack the structure and technical know-how to go about it. All of these energies being put into having minority political parties or having incompetent people in political parties is unnecessary.

“The genuine official figures should sit down first and square out with each other, look at each other, and tell each other some hard truth. What do we really want? Do we want to be known as official figures, or do we want to be known as martyrs for democracy in Nigeria? Or do we want to be those who brought progressive change to Nigerians? Once they answer these questions, the next major question should be ‘how do we go about it? Do we need three platforms, four, five?’ So, the opposition leaders need to seat and address all these and not registering more parties.”

The NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, who called it an indictment of the APC, referred to it as an advantage for the coalition.

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Johnson stated that the NNPP seeks greater participation from Nigerians in the process.

He stated, “No we are not threatened, not really, because we welcome more participation by Nigerians. We want more Nigerians to participate in the process. We believe that those who have decided to form new parties, or who are attempting to, when they get to the field, as it were, might be even more encouraged to come together with some of us existing parties.

“So, it’s something we understand. But once there is more participation, we appreciate it. It’s good. I don’t think it will divide the opposition parties more. By and large, a lot of it would be people who are trying to come together, who have seen that there is a need for us all to come together to try to bring about an alternative to what the APC is doing.

“In the long run, yes. More people want to participate. The fact that you have more parties coming should be seen not just as an indictment on the political class now, but more of an indictment on the ruling party, the APC.

“It shows the level of awareness that has been generated by their ineptitude and the way they have misruled the country so far.”

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LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, stated that it is the right of any group wishing to transition into a political party to submit a request to INEC.

Ifoh disclosed to our correspondent that the registration of new political parties does not pose a threat to the existing ones.

He stated, “It is the duty of INEC to receive a letter of interest from aspiring political associations, and they do not have the right to stop people from submitting their letters. It is part of their responsibility to assess those applications and determine whether they are qualified before they can become political parties.

“This is democracy. We are advocating for an inclusive attitude toward the registration of political parties. So, if any of them qualifies, why not? At one point in time in Nigeria, we had almost 90-something political parties.

“It is within the rights of all those people who want to transition from political associations to political parties. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, and it is not a threat to any political organization or party. There’s always this saying: the more, the merrier.

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“The registration of political parties is the right of INEC, and any organisation that qualifies should be registered. It is not a threat to any political party, whether the ruling party or the opposition.”

On his part, the National Spokesperson for the Coalition of United Political Parties, Mark Adebayo, argued that restricting the number of political parties would be detrimental to democracy.

According to him, in a true multiparty democracy, the electoral management body should not have the authority to limit the registration of political parties.

He emphasised that in countries like the UK and the US, there were hundreds of registered political parties, though only a few dominate the political scene.

He noted that a broader political landscape with more parties would strengthen the opposition and create a formidable challenge to the ruling party.

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“The fewer the political parties, the fewer the chances of opposition forces coming together to challenge the status quo,” he said.

“If more political parties are registered, they can form coalitions to contest against the APC, just like APC itself was an amalgamation of smaller parties that ousted the PDP in 2015.”

Alluding to the fact that leading opposition parties  appears fragmented, Adebayo  stressed that if more parties with strong regional bases emerged, they could unite to pose a serious challenge in the 2027 elections.

He warned that failing to register new parties could play into the hands of the ruling party, which might be attempting to engineer a de facto one-party system by eliminating competition.

“If they refuse to register new parties, it only strengthens the ruling party’s grip on power,” he stated.

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Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, Rufus Aiyenigba, said, “We are in a democracy. The more the merrier. What we are concerned about is for us to sanitise the electoral system. The numbers of parties don’t really matter, there was a time we had 100 and presently we have 19 and we still have issues it is not necessarily the numbers of parties but the commitment to the democratic ideas.”

APC Publicity Director, Bala Ibrahim, stated that the effort to register new political parties is being driven by unsuccessful politicians looking to maintain their relevance.

In an interview, Ibrahim remarked that even if Atiku attempts to register multiple parties under different identities, it will ultimately result in failure.

He stated “You see, there is a relevance of irrelevance. When people try and fail, sometimes, in order to remain afloat, they give the impression that they are still capable of running, but in reality, they cannot run because they have been tested and found untrustworthy. These parties that they are trying to register, they are doing so in anticipation of getting something from the Federal government, unknown to them, that no longer exists.

“The time when parties were funded by the government or given money to run their affairs without being relevant or in a position to add value to the political structure is over.

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“You see, Atiku Abubakar, in Nigerian politics, with all due respect, has won only one election in his lifetime, but since then, he has lost more than six elections. He is a serial loser, a perpetual contestant, and a perpetual loser who cannot give the APC, which is increasing in strength, increasing in acceptance, and increasing in support, a sleepless night. There is just no way. So even if he decides to register more political parties in disguise, it’s just going to be movement without any change in position. So, APC is not threatened by the number of applications recipients by INEC.”

PUNCH