The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised concerns over the lack of clear and functional ideology among most political parties in Nigeria.
According to the Commission, this ideological vacuum undermines internal democracy, worsens electoral conflicts, and continues to erode public confidence in Nigeria’s political and governance systems.
INEC’s National Commissioner, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, voiced these concerns on Wednesday in Abuja during the public unveiling of the Political Party Performance Index (PPPI), developed by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and the newly adopted Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Constitution.
Ajayi noted that while many political parties submit ideological frameworks as part of their registration documents, they often fail to uphold or implement those ideologies after being approved.
“There are so many requirements organisations have to meet before we can register them as political parties. Number one, you have to submit an application.”
“And within the application, you have to tell us where is your office, who are the protem chairman and secretary. Then you have to tell us your symbol. You have to tell us your acronym, and so on. All those things must be there before we can approve,” he explained.
“But as you have rightly said, many of the political parties are lacking in ideology. Not that they won’t include it as part of their supportive requirements in the application, but following through and implementing their ideology is a problem. But anybody can submit an ideology, but do they follow it up after registration? That is what we are going to follow up.”
Ajayi also revealed that INEC is working on developing new mechanisms to ensure political parties comply with their constitutions especially ahead of the 2027 general elections.
