Umar Ardo: INEC’s Refusal to Register ADA Aimed At Constricting Political Space

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Convener of the League of Northern Democrats and key promoter of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Dr. Umar Ardo, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deliberately constricting Nigeria’s political space by refusing to register new opposition parties, warning that such actions could turn elections into mere “affirmation exercises”.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja , Ardo said INEC failed to provide any official explanation for rejecting ADA’s registration, despite the group meeting all legal and procedural requirements.

“INEC did not register any of the associations, not one,” he said, adding: “Incidentally, INEC did not issue any press release, it did not post anything on its website, because it knows that public opinion will be highly against it.”

Ardo explained that out of 172 associations that submitted letters of intent, INEC screened the number down to 14, including ADA, and collected a non-refundable administrative fee of N2 million from each group.

“Out of the 172 that applied with letters of intent, they screened down to 14. Out of the 14, they collected the administrative fee of N2 million, which we paid, and then we applied through the dedicated portal,” he said.

According to him, the online application process ensured compliance with every statutory requirement.

“If any column on the portal is not filled, you cannot even submit. We filled every column and met every requirement of the law,” Ardo stated.

He added that INEC subsequently pre-qualified eight associations, including ADA, for the final stage of physical verification.

“INEC wrote to us that we had been pre-qualified for the last stage, which is physical verification,” he said. “They were to see our executives physically, inspect our offices, and verify original documents.”

Ardo disclosed that INEC officials visited ADA’s office on Monday, August 8, and conducted an extensive verification exercise lasting nearly four hours.