The House of Representatives has advanced a bill seeking to transfer the registration and regulation of political parties from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to a separate independent authority.
The proposed legislation, which passed its second reading on Thursday, was co-sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and lawmaker Marcus Onobun.
During the plenary session, Onobun argued that INEC should focus solely on conducting elections, while a new regulatory body would oversee political parties to ensure compliance with statutory requirements. He noted that concerns over electoral transparency and growing disputes in Nigeria’s elections have fuelled the need for reform.
According to him, the current structure leaves INEC overwhelmed with responsibilities, including party registration, regulation, coalition oversight, and election management.
The bill proposes the establishment of the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, which would be responsible for registering and monitoring political parties. It also seeks to create a Political Parties Disputes Tribunal to handle conflicts between party members, political parties, independent candidates, and coalition partners.
Additionally, the proposed legislation outlines penalties for electoral violations and includes amendments to the Electoral Act 2022 to remove political party registration from INEC’s duties.
When subjected to a voice vote, lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the bill, which has now been referred to the Committees on Electoral Matters and Political Party Matters for further review.
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