In my book, Nigerian General Elections 1959 and 1979 and the Aftermath, the background of registration of political parties was stated and I quote:-

"In 1959; the political parties contested the federal election of that year either as individual parties or as alliances. There was no registration of such parties and alliances and every regional, ethnic, religious, or other group could contest the election if it so desired. Tribal, religious and regional parties did contest election and in some cases won seats during the 1959 elections. The parties and alliances, in a way, showed the diversity of the Nigerian society."

"The situation was different in 1979. Part III of the Electoral Decree No. 73 of 1979 vets FEDECO with regulatory powers over the roles of parties in the election processes. Section 76 of the Decree defines "political party" as an association of persons whose activities include canvassing for votes in support of a candidate for election to the office of the president, governor or membership of a legislative House or a Local Government Council." No association, by whatever name called, will be allowed to function in a political party unless it is registered as such by the electoral commission and such registration is subject to the fulfillment of conditions prescribed under the decree. For any association to be registered as a political party, the law requires that the names and addresses of its national officers must be registered with the commission; the membership of the association is open to every Nigerian citizen irrespective of his or her place of origin, religion, ethnic group or sex. A copy of the association’s constitution is registered in the principal office (that is the headquarters) of the commission; every alteration in the association’s registered constitution is also registered in the principal office of the commission within thirty days of such alteration being made; the name, emblem or motto of the association has no ethnic or religious connotation and does not give the appearance that the association’s activities are confined to a part only of the geographical area of Nigeria; the association’s headquarters is situated in the Federal Capital; the association satisfies the electoral commission that has a properly established office in each of at least two-thirds of the states in the federation and that officers have been duly elected or, as the case may be, appointed to run the affairs of such branch office; the association’s organisation in the local government areas of those states are such that it will, in the opinion of the electoral commission, be able to present its programme effectively to the electorate; and the association’s programme as well as its aims and objectives shall conform with the relevant provisions of chapter II of the constitution dealing with fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy."

The electoral commission, after carefully considering the claims of each of the nineteen associations which had applied to be registered in relation to the conditions of registration already enumerated, came to the conclusion that the following associations satisfied the prescribed conditions and accordingly decided to register them as the political parties that would contest the 1979 elections.

National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Nigerian People’s Party (NPP), People’s Redemption Party (PRP).

Some of the provisions of Decree No. 73 of 1977 quoted above were entrenched in sections 202, 203 and 204 of the 1979 constitution and in sections 222, 223 and 224 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, it is significant that the provision of Decree No.73 of 1977 that "the association satisfies the Electoral Commission that it has properly established office in each of at least two-thirds of the states in the federation and that officers have been duly elected or as the case may be, appointed to run the affairs of such branch office" have not been incorporated in the aforementioned sections of the constitution, but were apparently re-enacted in the Electoral Act 2001 and Electoral Bill 2002. It is these extra constitutional provisions and other conditionalities that are incorporated in the current electoral law that prove to be stumbling blocks to the registration by INEC of associations as political parties. As things stand, the provisions of the electoral laws must be compiled by INEC in the registration exercise. In order to broaden the political space and allow more associations to be registered, the National Assembly should consider amending relevant sections of the extant electoral law(s) by strict compliance with sections 222, 223 and 224 of the 1999 constitution.

The conditionality regarding the establishment of branch offices in at least 2/3 of the states of the federation should apply only to political parties that wish to sponsor candidates for federal elections only i.e. senatorial, House of Representatives and presidential elections. Parties that contest only state and local government elections need not comply with the aforesaid conditionality. In other words, national parties should be allowed to exist side by side with local parties as was the case during the First Republic when "every regional, ethnic, religious or other groups could contest election if it so desired." The diversity of the Nigerian society should be reflected in the number and variety of political parties contesting elections. That is the essence of true democracy which permits a wide range of choices for the electorate. After all, in almost all African countries, including Nigeria’s neighbours, many political parties participate in elections. But like in developed democracies, only very few parties dominate the political scene. Nigeria should not be an exception if she wants to practise true multi-partyism. In order to achieve this desideratum, necessary steps should be taken to amend those provisions of our electoral laws and constitutions that tend to restrict the political space, giving rise to monopoly or oligopoly situations whereby only very few political parties held sway. We should jettison the military mentalities of limiting electoral contests to few political parties and conform with the practice of diversification which is the norm the world over!