African Alliance Party Accuses INEC of Unlawful Denial of Registration

The African Alliance Party (AAP) has strongly condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its refusal to register the organization as an official political party, despite claims that it has fulfilled all necessary requirements.

According to the AAP, it has met every condition stipulated in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act, and INEC’s own 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.

The party pointed to a series of official communications from INEC that initially seemed to confirm its progress. In September 2025, a press release signed by National Commissioner Sam Olumekun listed the AAP among 14 pre-qualified associations out of 171 applicants.

Following this, interim leaders of these groups were invited to a briefing at INEC’s Abuja headquarters on September 17, 2025.

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INEC then opened a dedicated online portal from September 18 to October 18, 2025, for these associations to submit the required documentation.

In a subsequent statement on October 30, 2025, the commission confirmed that eight of the 14 groups, including the AAP, had successfully uploaded all necessary information by the deadline.

At one stage, reports even suggested that the electoral body had cleared only two associations, with the AAP being one of them. Given this background, the AAP has described its eventual exclusion as “unlawful and an injustice which… shall not stand.”

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The party labeled the decision “a calculated assault on the nation’s democracy” and has demanded its immediate registration, threatening legal action if INEC fails to comply.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, the AAP expressed its intent to challenge the decision in court.

“AAP reaffirms its confidence in the Judiciary as the temple of justice and the last hope of all aggrieved citizens, and will defend and deepen the nation’s democracy in spite of the antics of reactionary forces bent on suffocating the democratic space,” the statement read.

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The party also questioned the commission’s integrity, highlighting what it called a “glaring” double standard. “The integrity of INEC is at stake,” Sadiq stated, questioning the registration of another group, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). “On what criterion was NDC registered? It did not participate in the registration process nor was it listed on INEC’s website.”

The AAP argued that any court orders should be based on clear evidence of participation in the registration process, asserting, “You cannot build something on nothing.”

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The party concluded by vowing to challenge INEC’s “bias and policy somersault” in court, emphasizing that “due process and the rule of law must be complied with for sustainable democracy and development in Nigeria.”