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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

INEC Says ADA Yet to Meet Requirements for Party Registration

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ABUJA, Nigeria — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), a group seeking registration as a political party, has not fulfilled the necessary prerequisites for formal recognition.

Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Sam Olumekun, clarified that although the Commission had received numerous letters of intent, none had progressed to the stage of a valid application.

“The truth is that we have so many letters of intent presently and none of them is an application yet. They must first meet the criteria before submitting a letter of intent,” Olumekun stated.

The clarification comes amid growing speculation surrounding the ADA, whose proponents recently submitted a letter dated Thursday, June 19, 2025, addressed to “The Chairman, Independent National Commission (INEC), 436, Zambezi Crescent, Maitama, Abuja FCT.”

The letter, which omitted the word “electoral” from the Commission’s official name, was co-signed by Akin Ricketts and Abdullahi Musa Elayo, serving as protem national chairman and secretary, respectively.

Among political heavyweights linked to the proposed party are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers; former Senate President David Mark; and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate. None of these individuals has publicly confirmed affiliation with the group.

INEC reiterated that there is no shortcut to political party registration.

“Associations seeking political party status must comply strictly with the procedures outlined in the 2022 Electoral Act and the Commission’s internal guidelines,” Olumekun added.

In a related development, INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu is scheduled to meet with leaders of the country’s 19 registered political parties at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, June 26, 2025.

The gathering forms part of a broader consultative stakeholders’ meeting involving civil society organisations, the media, and national security agencies.

The meeting, coordinated under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), will be co-chaired by Prof Yakubu and National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

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