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“Deregister Parties That Didn’t Win Or Contest Elections” – Lawmaker Tells INEC

BySodiq Lawal

PublishedJune 30, 2025

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been urged to wield its constitutional powers to deregister political parties that fail to meet statutory requirements for existence.

In a position paper dated June 30, 2025 and made available to journalists, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Oluwole Oke, called on the electoral umpire decried the proliferation of political parties that neither contest elections nor have any semblance of democratic structure or participation.

According to him, such parties have become tools of manipulation, contributing nothing to the democratic process but rather exploiting electoral systems for selfish gains.

“The register of political parties must not be a dumping ground for unserious entities.

“INEC must rise to its regulatory mandate and ensure that only political parties that actively contest elections and meet constitutional thresholds are retained,” he said.

Quoting Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as altered), Oke reminded the Commission that it is empowered to deregister political parties on grounds such as failure to win elections, absence of institutional structures, or lack of participation in the electoral process.

He condemned what he described as the emergence of “political desperadoes” who use non-participating party platforms to file post-election petitions with the sole aim of securing out-of-court settlements from legitimate winners.

“These parties neither campaign nor present candidates, yet they are the first to rush to tribunals after elections, hoping to be settled financially. It has become an industry of extortion that is hurting our democratic experience,” he added.

Oke noted that the presence of over 80 parties on ballot papers not only causes confusion among voters, especially the illiterate population, but also undermines the credibility of elections.

“The Nigerian ballot paper has become one of the longest and most complex in the world, creating room for errors and invalid votes,” he said.

He also highlighted the waste of public funds on moribund parties. “INEC continues to allocate resources to political parties that add zero value to the electoral process. This is an abuse of taxpayers’ money and must stop,” he said.

To address these challenges, Oke recommended that INEC carry out an immediate and routine compliance audit of all registered political parties, enforce its deregistration powers without political bias, and work with the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to limit legal standing in election petitions to only parties that took part in the polls.

He also urged civil society groups and electoral observers to extend their monitoring to party activities beyond election days, and for INEC to intensify public awareness campaigns on the roles and responsibilities of political parties.

According to Oke, democracy cannot thrive on the back of ghost parties. “Freedom of political association is not a licence for electoral blackmail. INEC must sanitise the party system. The survival of Nigeria’s democracy depends on it,” he concluded.

Sodiq Lawal

Sodiq Lawal is a passionate and dedicated journalist with a knack for uncovering captivating stories in the bustling metropolis of Osun State and Nigeria at large. He has a versatile reporting style, covering a wide range of topics, from politics , campus, and social issues to arts and culture, seeking impact in all facets of the society.