The 2027 general election may be the first poll in Nigeria that over 20 political parties will contest after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that 12 additional applications have been received from group seeking to become a political party in the country.
The 12 additional requests has increased the number of groups seeking to become registered political parties to 122.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, confirmed this in a statement to newsmen on Thursday.
“On Monday last week the Commission announced that it had received applications from 110 associations seeking registration as political parties. We also assured Nigerians that we will be giving regular updates on the matter. The Commission is processing these applications transparently and in fairness to all applicants.
“Meanwhile, the Commission has since received 12 more applications for registration as political parties as of yesterday, Wednesday 2nd July 2025, bringing the total number of applications to 122. The list of the new applications by names of associations, their acronyms, addresses, and interim Chairmen and Secretaries has been uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information. We will respond to these applicants in line with the Electoral Act and Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022.
“However, the Commission notes that one association has already changed its interim Secretary as a result of defection to another association. To facilitate the consideration of these applications, the Commission appeals to associations to maintain consistency of their proposed leadership and addresses so that they do not by their own actions cause a delay to the timely consideration of their applications”, Olumekun added.
