Ezenwa Nwagu, Executive Director of the Peering Advocacy and Advisory Centre in Africa, has dismissed a large number of the 110 associations currently seeking registration as political parties with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing them as unserious and ill-prepared.
While speaking in an interview with Arise News, Nwagu emphasized that although every citizen has the constitutional right to associate and aspire to form political parties, the process is not a free-for-all venture.
“It’s actually not an all-comers affair,” he noted.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, had earlier revealed during the Commission’s second Quarterly Meeting with the media that as of Monday, June 23, 2025, the electoral body had received applications from 110 associations expressing intent to become registered political parties.
However, Nwagu raised concerns over the legitimacy of many of the applicants. “If you check the 110 interested associations, you will see that many, quite frankly, are jokers,” he said.
“They probably don’t even understand that there are conditions… You have to have a constitution, a functional chairman and secretary, and a verifiable address.”
He further alleged that some of the listed addresses in their applications were fabricated or non-existent.
“Some of them, even the addresses they supplied are indeed addresses you know do not exist,” he explained. “I took time to scan through those 110. Many of them are jokers.”
According to him, certain applications were even submitted by legal representatives instead of the mandated interim chairmen or secretaries of the groups.
“There are some that it is a lawyer that applied for them when it is clear that your protem chairman and your protem secretary should be the one applying,” Nwagu said.
He also outlined INEC’s procedural requirements, including the need to pay an administrative fee after name clearance, without which, he said, the application is terminated.
“If you do not pay that administrative fee, your application is terminated instantly,” he stressed.
Recalling a previous occurrence, Nwagu mocked the absurdity of some earlier groups.
“We had those registered organizations that we talked about, the 70 of them, the addresses were found to be in cemeteries. It was laughable,” he added.
In summary, Nwagu urged that only serious associations that understand the legal and administrative frameworks involved should pursue political party registration, warning against the misuse of the system.