INEC commended, amidst anger, for deregistering 74 political parties

A total of 74 political parties have been erased from the list of political parties on the records of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Only 18 parties are now recognised by INEC even as the commission fixed September 19 2020 for Edo state governorship election while Ondo election holds on the 10th Oct 2020.
The de-registered parties may be seething with anger and contemplating legal options but the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has described the deregistration as a good omen.
Said Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC National Chairman, “The tenure of the governors of Edo and Ondo states will end on November 12, 2020 and February 24, 2021 respectively. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 178(2) of the 1999 constitution and Section 25(8) of the Electoral Act 2010, elections cannot hold earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of an incumbent governor.
“Accordingly, the commission has fixed Saturday September 19, 2020 as the date for the governorship election in Edo State and Saturday October 10, 2020 for Ondo State.”
On the deregistered parties, he said: He said, “In order to implement the provision of the Fourth Alteration to the constitution, the commission carried out an assessment of political parties to determine compliance with the requirements for their registration.
“Similarly, following the conclusion of the 2019 general elections, including court-ordered re-runs arising from litigation, the commission was able to determine the performance of political parties in the elections.
“In addition, they were also assessed on the basis of their performance in the area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory which coincided with the 2019 general elections. It should be noted that the FCT is the only part of the country where INEC is empowered by the constitution to conduct LG elections.
“Consequently, the commission has determined that 18 political parties have fulfilled the requirements for existence based on Section 225A of the 1999 constitution (as amended).
“Seventy-five political parties did not satisfy the requirements of the Fourth Alteration to the Constitution. However, one of the political parties, the Action Peoples Party, filed a suit and obtained an order restraining the commission from deregistering it. Consequently, the party remains registered pending the determination of the case by the court.
“The new political party, Boot Party, registered by court order after the 2019 general elections will also continue to exist. Accordingly, 74 political parties are hereby deregistered. With this development, Nigeria now has 18 registered political parties. The list of the parties will be shared and will also be available on our website and social media platforms.”
Mr Bestman Okereafor, NYCN’s National Public Relations Officer, said, in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Friday.
He said that INEC’s current position on the  state of some political parties was a good step, especially in preparation for the 2023 general elections.
“NYCN’s attention has been drawn to INEC’s decision to deregister 74 political parties and bringing the number down to 18.
“We consider this as a giant stride and a step in the right direction, it shows that the electoral commission is poised to do it well,” he said.
Okereafor congratulated the 18 political parties that survived INEC’s scrutiny, urging them to play their roles in the nation’s polity.
He said it was worrisome that most political parties were mere appendages of the major ones, saying, “they are silent and unable to check the activities of the major parties.”
“The NYCN congratulates the successful 18 political parties, we charge them to serve as checks to the policies of the ruling party
Similarly, INEC as said it
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said this in a statement issued by the commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi on Thursday in Abuja.
Yakubu also hinted at another meeting when he received Geographic Information System (GIS) support equipment is considering creating additional polling units across the country before the 2023 general elections.
According to him, Nigeria had 119,973 polling units, more than 57,000 voting points, making a total of more than 180,000 polling units and voting points.
Additional reports by NAN