The All Democratic Alliance (ADA) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deliberately refusing to register the party, despite allegedly fulfilling all constitutional and administrative requirements.
The allegation was made on Tuesday by ADA’s key promoter, Umar Ardo, during an interview on Arise Television, monitored by DAILY POST.
Ardo said the alliance complied fully with INEC’s registration guidelines and progressed through every stage of the process, only for the electoral body to go silent at the final phase.
“The All Democratic Alliance provided INEC with all the documents required for registration,” he said. “INEC did not register any of the associations—none at all.”
He described INEC’s conduct as unusual, noting that the commission typically issues weekly press releases after its meetings to update Nigerians on key decisions.
“Incidentally, INEC was mute on this issue. It did not issue a press release, nor did it publish anything on its website. This is because it knows public opinion would be strongly against it,” Ardo alleged.
According to him, 172 political associations initially submitted letters of intent to INEC. These were screened down to 14, each of which paid a ₦2 million administrative fee and proceeded to apply through INEC’s dedicated registration portal.
“Out of the 14, INEC pre-qualified eight associations and officially informed us that we had reached the final stage, which is physical verification,” he explained.
Ardo said INEC subsequently conducted a physical verification of ADA’s national office and found it adequately equipped, comparable to those of existing political parties.
He further stated that ADA exceeded the constitutional requirement for national spread.
“By law, a party must have structures in at least 24 states and the FCT. We have representation in all 36 states and the FCT,” he said.
Ardo added that INEC had assured the group that it would be contacted if additional information or clarification was required.
“INEC clearly stated that if there was any need for further information, they would reach out to us. They never did,” he said.
The ADA promoter called on INEC to explain its actions and urged transparency in the political party registration process.
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