News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Thursday, told newsmen that the commission de-registered 74 political parties out of existing 92 registered, leaving the country with 18 registered parties.
He said that the parties were de-registered for not satisfying the requirements of the Fourth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution.
Adeoye said: “At this time, all those in the defunct and delisted parties must not feel like they have no place to go to because ADP is the party they should consider and they will be well treated when they join.
“ADP has remained the only credible alternative political party to the two existing dominant parties in Nigeria.”
The party’s spokesman commended its members nationwide for participating in the verification exercise across the 774 local government in the country.
He urged party’s leaders and members to redouble their efforts in attracting more members and prominent Nigerians to the party’s fold.
Reacting, the Chairman, Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), Mr Niyi Akinsiju, lauded INEC for trimming the numbers of registered parties, saying that the reduction from a high of 92 parties to 18 has both cost and management implications for the electoral commission.
Akinsiju said, “Personally, I have been an advocate of the need to audit and trim the numbers of registered parties that are able to put forward political contestants at elections.
“Though we have yet to be availed the legal grounds on which the Independent National Electoral Commission deregistered these parties, on the face value, it a required move to sanitise the nation’s electoral processes and political environment.
“The reduction from a high of 92 parties to 18 has both cost and management implications for the electoral commission while creating ease of election among the generality of voting Nigerians.
“This will also ensure seriousness in political contest because it has reduced the space for political ambition retailers whose interests do not go beyond printing their pictures on posters and using their weak parties to negotiate relevance in electoral contest,” he observed.
