Opposition political parties across Nigeria scrambled on Saturday to submit updated membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the midnight deadline for the 2027 general elections.
The rush followed INEC’s March 27 extension of the deadline to May 10, 2026. The commission had earlier reminded parties that “the register of party members must be submitted to INEC not later than 21 days before the holding of their respective primaries.”
INEC set May 30 as the last day for primaries, meaning parties planning primaries on that date had until May 9 to submit their registers.
Parties Confirm Compliance
The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) National Chairman, Yusuf Bala, said the party had surpassed INEC’s minimum threshold of 5,000 members.
“Even the party membership register that we took to the commission is in three volumes,” he explained, citing strong followership across Kano, Kaduna, and the North Central region.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) also confirmed compliance. National Publicity Secretary Rufus Aiyenigba said, “We have complied with the membership register long before INEC officials visited us at the secretariat for verification.” SDP Chairman Shehu Gabam added, “Yes, we did.”
The Labour Party (LP) reported a surge in northern membership.
Publicity Secretary Ken Asogwa said, “Surprisingly, what we were able to glimpse from the backend shows that we have more members in the North than in the South.”
He credited acting National Chairman Senator Nenadi Usman for expanding the party’s reach.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Deputy Publicity Secretary Abdulmumin Abdulsalam said the party was confident of meeting the deadline, though he did not provide figures.
Other parties, including the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Young Progressives Party (YPP), and the African Action Congress (AAC), confirmed compliance. AAC founder Omoyele Sowore responded simply: “yes.”
INEC’s Directive And Implications
INEC explained that the directive was in line with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates parties to submit registers at least 21 days before primaries.
Submission of registers is considered critical because it enables INEC to verify party membership and monitor compliance during congresses and primaries.
The law also empowers INEC to ensure candidates emerge through democratic processes consistent with party constitutions.
Consequently, parties embarked on frantic registration drives, emergency meetings, and hurried coalition talks as the deadline threatened to shut out aspirants.
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