The African Alliance Party (AAP) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding registration as a political party or risk facing legal action.
AAP Interim National Chairman, Rev. Olusegun Peters, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
According to NAN, AAP is among eight associations that completed the upload of required documents on INEC’s portal after being pre-qualified for party registration.
Peters said the association met all deadlines and complied fully with provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC’s 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
He, however, accused INEC of unfairly denying the party registration despite fulfilling all requirements within the stipulated timeline.
Peters also cited media reports indicating that both the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and AAP had initially been cleared for registration.
“It is surprising that INEC, which promised to evaluate applications strictly on merit and in line with the law, would deny AAP registration despite our compliance with all conditions,” he said.
He alleged that political considerations influenced the decision, claiming AAP’s growing popularity ahead of the 2027 elections may have worked against the party.
“We believe our rejection stems from the support we have gained among Nigerians, including political stakeholders and ordinary citizens, due to our manifesto and proposed solutions to national challenges,” Peters added.
He said the party’s legal team would initiate court proceedings if INEC fails to review its decision and register AAP within the two-week window.
Peters also urged INEC to release the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the court order that reportedly led to the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) instead of AAP.
He questioned how NDC secured registration despite not being among the 14 associations initially pre-qualified or the eight groups that successfully uploaded their documentation on INEC’s portal.
According to him, Nigerians deserve transparency regarding NDC’s registration, alleging that the association neither met constitutional requirements nor paid the mandatory registration fee.
“INEC claims it registered NDC following a court order, yet NDC did not appear among pre-qualified associations on INEC’s platform or in official communications.
“So how did it secure a court ruling? What documents did it present? How did the court grant judgment without its participation in the full registration process? These are questions INEC must answer,” Peters stated.
NAN reports that INEC announced on September 11, 2025, that only 14 out of 171 associations seeking party registration met the initial requirements.
Earlier, on September 2, 2025, INEC National Commissioner Sam Olumekun confirmed that only eight associations completed the documentation process, including AAP.
Other associations included All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), Abundance Social Party (ASP), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Green Future Party (GFP), National Democratic Party (NDP), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, later announced on February 5 during a quarterly consultative meeting that only two new parties—DLA and NDC—were registered, raising the total number of political parties in Nigeria to 21.
Amupitan explained that DLA complied fully following physical verification, while NDC’s registration followed a Federal High Court order in Lokoja, Kogi State, under Suit No. FHC/LKJ/CS/49/2025.
While INEC insists final approvals followed strict physical verification procedures, AAP maintains its exclusion violates existing legal provisions governing party registration in Nigeria.
