Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, has reacted to the claim made by Coalition of Opposition political leaders that the Commission might not want to register a new political party.

INEC said it will treat all requests fairly irrespective of the status of their promoters, be they ordinary or prominent citizens.

“Nigerians will be fully briefed of the actions taken by the Commission every step of the way,” he said.

Yakubu addressed that matter at the second Regular Consultative Meeting with Media Executives held at the Commission’s Conference Room Abuja, on Wednesday.

The meeting was to provide insight about two electoral activities, conduct of primaries for the Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, which is scheduled to end Monday 30th June 2025, and the upcoming Anambra State Governorship election.

The Council elections in Anambra would will be held in 68 constituencies made up of Chairmen and their Deputies for the six Area Councils, namely Abaji, the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali as well as 62 Wards drawn on the basis of 10 Wards for each Area Council, except AMAC which has 12 Wards on account of its population.

Yakubu pointed out that one of the topical issues on election administration in Nigeria is the status of the letters of intent the Commission received from associations seeking registration as political parties amidst partisan insinuations.

Some opposition leaders such as Rotimi Amaechi and Nasir El-Rufai had on different occasions said that the Commission is equivocating on the matter in a manner that compromises its independence.

“Nigerians may recall that the same unfounded accusation was made under similar circumstances in 2013 that the Commission was not keen on the proposed merger of political parties because INEC had “merged with the ruling party” at the time,” he said.

“For the record, the present Commission registered the largest number of political parties in Nigeria strictly following the provision of the electoral legal framework. For the 2019 General Election, there were 91 political parties and 73 presidential candidates. The Commission was criticised in some quarters for registering too many political parties.

“After the election, the Commission also deregistered over 70 political parties as provided by law. We wish to reassure Nigerians that under the current situation, we will continue to be guided by law and act with fairness to all associations seeking registration as political parties.

“We will treat all requests fairly irrespective of the status of their promoters, be they ordinary or prominent citizens. Nigerians will be fully briefed of the actions taken by the Commission every step of the way.”