Senate Moves To Reduce Political Parties In Nigeria To Five

The upper chamber of the National Assembly has asked for a reduction of political parties participating in elections in Nigeria from the current 91 to 5 through legislation.

Speaking during the meeting with the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, led by its chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu (PDP Enugu West), pointed out that the numbers of political parties contesting elections in the country is a contravention of the amended Electoral Act.

He added that any political party that fails to win a single seat during the last general election ought to be deregistered.

The chairman senate committee on INEC on his part, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC Kano South), also appealed to the electoral body to remove parties that are not functioning well or failed to perform in the last elections. He also appealed the amendment of the electoral act to reduce the political parties to a maximum of five.

INEC Chairman,  Professor Yakubu Mahmood, while responding to the request of the legislators said the commission had systematically deregistered many parties under the electoral act. But the parties insisted that the electoral act is inferior to the constitution.