86 associations apply for registration as political parties

Eighty-six political associations have applied for registration as political parties, Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said.

Yakubu made this known on Tuesday during the quarterly consultative meeting with leaders of political parties at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
“Today’s quarterly meeting brings together INEC and political parties in order to discuss a number of pertinent issues in the management of our democracy,” he said.
Political Parties are the only vehicles by which persons can contest for elective positions in our country. This means parties are central to our democracy.”

He also welcomed back 10 political parties that were deregistered after the 2015 general elections but were later reinstated by court orders.
The reinstated parties are: Better Nigerian Peoples Party (BNPP); Peoples Redemption Party (PRP); Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), Democratic Alternatives (DA), National Action Council (NAC), National Democratic Liberty Party (NDLP), Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN), National Conscience Party (NCP), Nigerian Elements progressive Party (NEPP), National Unity Party (NUP).
Yakubu said: “As always, INEC will abide by court orders on this one and all other matters.”
The total number of registered political parties in Nigeria presently stands at 40.