The House of Representatives has passed a bill for the second reading seeking to establish an independent authority for the registration, regulation, and funding of political parties in Nigeria.
The bill, co-sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Edo lawmaker Marcus Onobun, proposes removing political party registration and regulation from the responsibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
During Thursday’s plenary, presided over by Speaker Abbas, Onobun argued that INEC should focus solely on conducting elections, as its current workload is excessive. He pointed out that election transparency has become a major public concern, citing frequent electoral disputes.
“The call for transparency in the electoral process in Nigeria has continued to dominate public discourse in recent years. This is evidenced by the increased number of electoral disputes at all levels. All stakeholders in the electoral process are in tandem with the fact that no nation can elect credible leaders and experience good governance where the process of electing her leaders is marred by irregularities,” Onobun stated.
He emphasized that many Nigerians blame INEC for election irregularities and that reforms are necessary to restore public confidence in the electoral process.
“Many citizens have rightly or wrongly blamed INEC for election irregularities. Irrespective of the divide one may find himself, what is indisputable is the fact that our electoral process needs a surgical operation,” he said.
Onobun noted that with Nigeria’s population exceeding 200 million, INEC is burdened with registering and regulating political parties while also overseeing presidential, governorship, and legislative elections. He called for a new regulatory body to ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards among political parties while allowing INEC to focus on election management.
“To improve our electoral process and the management of political parties, it is desirous that we have a different authority that will be responsible for the registration and regulation of political parties’ activities. This will ensure that registered political parties comply with constitutional and other statutory requirements while INEC concentrates on its primary assignment of conducting elections to ensure a more proficient, seamless, and transparent democratic process in Nigeria,” he explained.
The bill proposes the establishment of the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, an independent agency responsible for overseeing political parties’ registration and operations. It also seeks to create the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, which would handle conflicts between party members, political parties, independent candidates, and coalition partners.
“The bill, under Clauses 41 and 42, prescribes penalties for offences by political parties and their members and also prescribes punishments for offenders to ensure transparency and accountability in political parties’ administration in Nigeria,” Onobun noted.
Additionally, Clause 47 of the bill seeks to amend sections 75 to 81 of the Electoral Act 2022 to remove political party registration from INEC’s duties. After a voice vote, the bill received overwhelming support from lawmakers and was referred to the Committees on Electoral Matters and Political Party Matters for further legislative review.
