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The game of politics has changed. Good luck winning anything if you want to start a political party in Nigeria and you’re not doing these things.
Get a dead name, then a catchy slogan
Your name needs to show that you’re not really here to do anything new. You’re just here for the national cake. Because what kind of name is People’s Alliance for National Redemption? Your name needs to spark zero joy and curiosity when they see it. But you want to be popular so you need to find a catchy slogan. Something that means nothing but gets the people going. Try “awa lo kan” and watch the party blowhttps://inecnigeria.org/political-parties/ up.
Find the worst graphic designer available
Your logo needs to look like the wickedness you’re going to show Nigerians when your party comes to power. That’s why you need to find the worst graphic designer around and make them create their shittiest work for you. Works wonders every time.
Then make sure you hire a badass photographer because your pictures must slap
As I said, the game has changed. Your campaign has left the TV screens and is now happening on social media. Your photographer needs to get all your angles right as you walk to your plane like the Abuja big boy that you are.
Make Aso Ebi with the logo
You need a subtle way of reminding people that you’re now in business. So the next thing to do is to make some clothes with your party logo on it. Give them out to a party loyalists and people in need of new clothes, so they serve as free public relations (PR) for your party.
You need members. So gather a bunch of old men
You want to make sure you’re ignoring all these women when you’re accepting members. Who wants women to be leaders when you can pick a bunch of old men with questionable morals and zero shame?
Have plenty of money and be shameless yourself
After you’ve formed your party, you only need two things: money and shamelessness. Once you have these, the sky is your limit.
Throw shades at the current government
It doesn’t matter that the men you’ve gathered in your party are mostly from the government you’re throwing shades at. You know everyone will just unlook the hypocrisy and focus on the people you’re pointing fingers at.
Win something and become exactly like them
You need to win something big. You don’t want to win an LGA chairman election or State House of Assembly. Nobody remembers those ones. Nigerians like monarchy vibes so you really only have three options: presidency, governorship, and the senate. Once you get to power, turn around and become like the exact kind of people you once pointed fingers at. Congratulations, your work is done.
You might think only two political parties are stressing your life as a Nigerian, but there are actually 18 of them. How did they come to be, and what’s their origin story? We’ve dug up the stories of the biggest ten, so we can gist you.
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Founded: 2013
National Chairman: Abdullahi Adamu
This broomstick party blew up like a fintech startup and took everywhere by storm in the 2015 elections. Taking one more cue from the tech world, they were formed through a merger of three parties — the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP). They even had factions join them from the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
As if all the pepper these parties showed us before then wasn’t enough, they had to band together to form the biggest crew of pepper-sprayers we’ve known to date. And in 2023, they’re gearing up to show us even more pepper by fielding Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
People’s Democratic Party
Founded: 1998
National Chairman: Iyorchia Ayu
This party had 16 years of uninterrupted rule over Nigeria’s affairs. They’ve taken us through good times and bad, and are now acting like that toxic ex who keeps trying to convince us they’re the best we’ve ever had.
This party was formed in 1998 and had its first presidential primary election in Jos, Plateau, in which Olusegun Obasanjo was nominated as the presidential candidate, and Atiku Abubakar, his vice presidential candidate. This party won every presidential election from 1998 to 2015 when they got bounced by the APC.
For the 2023 elections, they’re fielding Atiku Abubakar as their presidential candidate and Ifeanyi Okowa as the vice presidential candidate.
Labour Party (LP)
Founded: 2002
National Chairman: Julius Abure
This party sounds like a new one but has actually been around for a while. It was formed in 2002 back when the exchange rate was ₦120 to $1. It used to be called the Party for Social Democracy, but it seems someone in the party realised they needed something hip and moved for them to change the name to Labour Party after the 2003 general elections. This name is so clean, it’s giving startup vibes. They do believe in social democracy, so if you’re wondering what they want Nigeria to look like, think Sweden.
They’re fielding Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti-Ahmed as their presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2023 elections.
Social Democratic Party
Founded: 1989
National Chairman: Vacant
This party is one of the oldest active parties in Nigeria at the moment. But what we don’t understand is how they’ve managed to hold only a tiny fraction of the seats in all political positions in the country. The party was created alongside the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida as part of a democracy project to detribalize Nigerian politics. NRC died, while SDP stuck around. Their main agenda is to improve welfare and promote social justice.
Even though you may not have heard a lot about this party in mainstream politics, it has had some of the most notable Nigerians as members in the past. People like Rabiu Kwankwaso, Jerry Gana, Umaru Yar’adua, Atiku Abubakar and Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In fact, the popular June 12 elections had SDP as the winning party, as M.K.O Abiola was the presidential candidate of the party.
For the 2023 elections, this party is fielding Prince Adewole Adebayo as its presidential candidate and Nafisa Mohammed Bolori as its vice presidential candidate.
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
Founded: 2003
National Chairman: Victor Oye
There’s a hot contest about who really founded this party, between Chekwas Okorie and Chukwuemeka Ojukwu. But we know two things for sure: this party was founded in 2003, and its first presidential candidate was Chukwuemeka Ojukwu. He didn’t win the election, but the party went on to win two seats in the House of Representatives. Today, they only have four seats in the House of Representatives.
Next year, we’ll see this party in the election scene with strange names like Professor Peter Umeadi as the presidential candidate and Abdullahi Koli as his running mate.
We’ve said it before, this party gives us stealth startup vibes. They started out as a political association in 2016 and didn’t get registered until 2017. They were formed on the basis of social democracy to fight for social justice and provide equal opportunities for all Nigerians. The only problem is they only won one of the 109 seats in the Nigerian senate during the 2019 elections.
They’ve fielded popular names before; Professor Kingsley Moghalu emerged as the presidential candidate of the party in 2019. For the coming elections [2023], Prince Malik Ado-Ibrahim is the party’s presidential candidate.
New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
Founded: 2001
National Chairman: Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali
This party is also one of the oldies as it was founded in 2001 by Boniface Aniebonam. They’re as old as GSM’s stay in Nigeria. The party is currently fielding the former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as its presidential candidate for the 2023 elections.
Accord
Founded: Unknown
National Chairman: Hon. Mohammad Lawal Nalado
This party was founded by the former Oyo State governor, Rashidi Ladoja, but no one really remembers when. He ditched his own party and defected to the People’s Democratic Party in 2017. The party only won one seat in the House of Representatives, but they’re sure they’ll give Nigeria its next president. They’re fielding Professor Christopher Imumolen as their candidate for the 2023 presidential elections.
Allied People’s Movement (APM)
Founded: 2018
National Chairman: Yusuf Dantalle
Not much is known about this party asides from the fact that they were officially registered with the INEC in 2018. While they were an unofficial party, they endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari’s candidacy in 2015. Currently, they’re looking to enter Aso Villa themselves by fielding Yusuf Dantalle as their presidential candidate for the 2023 elections. It just might be the only party that has the national chairman running for president.
People’s Redemption Party (PRP)
Founded: 1978
National Chairman: Mallam Falalu Bello
As far as we can tell, this party is the longest surviving in Nigeria. It really takes the cake as the last man standing from the last generation. The party was created by the supporters of Mallam Aminu Kano after his withdrawal from the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1978. They were initially banned by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, during his first shift as Nigeria’s Head of State, but resurfaced in the 90s and have been unable to gather the same level of support.
The party is fielding Kola Abiola, the son of M.K.O Abiola, as its presidential candidate for the 2023 elections.
Nigeria is already stressful. Reading about it doesn’t have to be like that too. Subscribe to the Citizen newsletter to get weekly emails that keep you updated on Nigerian politics.
You can’t deny that APC gives off sugar daddy vibes and Labour party feels very working-class. But there are 16 other political parties that need introduction. And we’re here to do just that.
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Founded in 2013, these are the loud-mouthed sugar daddies who spray mint ₦100 notes at parties. When you ask them what it’s for, they tell you beans and garri. These men have zero shame and no problems borrowing money to fund their sugar daddy lifestyle. On top of that, nobody even knows where all the sugar is going because it’s not really helping or touching anybody.
This party gives off old money vibes but with a touch of sugar daddy too. The only problem is the money has finished. So when you ask them to show workings, you’re just playing yourself.
This band of people keeps rising and falling just like crypto, except they don’t have the money most crypto bros do. They remind us of that aunty who’s been around the longest but we keep forgetting to invite for family parties.
They give off boomer vibes but with a high debt-to-GDP ratios instead of plenty money. Nobody understands anything they say, but we like having them around.
You get firefighter vibes from this party. You can’t blame them for this because, technically, the country is on fire. The only thing we need to explain is why there’s an insect on their logo. It’s giving mosquito coil.
We’re pretty sure this party was going for ajebutter vibes with their name, but they ended up giving malaria drug vibes with a logo that looks like sadness.
Not every time APC and PDP. Did you even know there’s a party called the National Rescue Movement? We just gave you a bonus answer for free but you have three minutes to guess these political parties from their abbreviations.
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Citizen is a column that explains how the government’s policies fucks citizens and how we can unfuck ourselves.
In Nigeria, unlike other countries, you cannot aspire to an elected public office without doing so on the platform of a political party.
Section 40 of the 1999 provides that every Nigerian shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and the person may belong to may political party, trade union or any other association that protects his interests.
Now, in the spirit of the #EndSARS Movement, you will agree with me that it is important for young Nigerians to be better aware about forming and maintaining political parties. Maybe police brutality in Nigeria would have stopped if our own party was in government.
How To Set Up A Political Party
Section 40 of the Constitution gives the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to recognise political parties.
According to INEC, “a political association is an organisation or association of persons seeking registration as a political party in order to participate in an election by meeting all prescribed statutory requirements”.
Stage 1: Organisation
The party needs a name, logo and acronym of the proposed party, and it must not be similar to any known registered political party or have any religious, tribal or ethnic connotation. For example, you can’t register “The Christian Party of Nigeria”.
The party needs to have a Chairman, a Secretary, a State Executive Committee, and all officers must have been validly elected (INEC must receive a record of the proceeding of the elections).
The party needs to have a draft Constitution, a draft Code of Conduct and a Manifesto. The constitution should contain how your elections are conducted and the administrative structure of the party, among other things.
The draft Constitution must also reflect the Federal character principle of the 1999 constitution i.e all the leadership posts must be distributed fairly across the different geo-political zones in Nigeria.
The headquarters of the proposed party must be in Abuja, and the party must be present in at least 24 states of the Federation.
Stage 2: Submission of documents to INEC
The proposed party must pay a non-refundable fee of ₦1,000,000 (One Million Naira).
It must obtain the appropriate form “PAI”.
Within 30 working days, the proposed party must submit 50 copies of the draft constitution and the manifesto alongside other required information to the INEC.
They must submit these documents with the name, signature and residential address of the Chairman and Secretary of the proposed political party.
If all these supporting documents are not submitted within 30 days, INEC will terminate the application for registration, and the proposed political party will have to pay a fresh administrative fee of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira).
Once these documents have been submitted, INEC will verify them for conformity with the guidelines.
If INEC is satisfied that the party registration guidelines have been met, the party will be registered and a Certificate of Registration will be issued
If all the requirements have not been met, INEC will notify the party of the reason for the refusal.
The proposed political party may correct the errors in its registration documents without having to pay a fresh ₦1,000,000 (One Million Naira).
You can read this document for the complete guidelines on how to form a political party in Nigeria.
We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about how to unfuck yourself when the Nigerian government moves mad. Check back every weekday for more Zikoko Citizen explainers.
We were doing some research and to our surprise, APC and PDP are not the only registered political parties in Nigeria. According to INEC, there are actually 68 registered political parties! We are pretty sure you’ve never heard of these ones.
All Blending Party (ABP)
From the name, you’ll already know these ones came to play. What does All Blending Party mean?
Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP)
Is this a political party logo or the logo for a Yahoo boy’s side hustle?
All Democratic Peoples Movement (ADPM)
I like how they’ve already packed themselves inside bus. They better keep driving until they reach Cotonou, because we don’t want them here.
Citizens Popular Party (CPP)
These ones had the liver to put ‘popular’ in their party’s name. Why tell such lies?
Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)
‘Freedom and Justice’, as if any Nigerian politician knows the meaning of those words.
Green Party of Nigeria (GPN)
I like how there’s a hand telling us ‘your father’ in their logo. At least they are straightforward.
Independent Democrats (ID)
If we put all Nigerian politicians together in a room we are pretty sure none of them can spell ‘Independents’ or ‘Democrats’ but there is a political party called Independent Democrats?
Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP)
Is there anywhere in this country that justice prevails?
Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN)
These ones what to use ‘we the people, for the people’ to deceive us. Stay woke, they are all the same.
National Conscience Party (NCP)
I’m pretty sure we all know that if there’s one thing all Nigerian politicians lack, it’s conscience.
New Generation Party of Nigeria (NGP)
Just look at these wicked people that don’t want us to progress as a country. How can they use hand fan as their logo? So they are praying for us to never have light?
National Rescue Movement (NRM)
It took a bit to convince me this is a political party. What’s the bee doing there, please?
Re-build Nigeria Party (RBNP)
Please, there is nothing to rebuild we need to start from scratch. We have to lay foundation again.
Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN)
So there are people who are socialists in this country?
Young Progressive Party (YPP)
So there is a Young Progressive Party in this country and Buhari is still president. Wawu.
Politics in Nigeria is forever a source of humour for us. With the likes of Dino Melaye occupying seats of power, it’s a wonder this country is still running. When it comes to Nigerian politics and humour though, one of the funniest things we’ve come across in a while are these political party logos:
Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP)
We tried our hardest to decipher this logo but we still have so many questions. Why is a plant growing out of the laptop? Why is the laptop in a map of Nigeria?
Sustainable National Party (SNP)
We thought very hard about it and we couldn’t come up with a single reason a bell will be used as a party logo. Must be closing time.
United Democratic Party
There’s nothing you want to tell us. Whoever came up with this logo just went home and told their child to draw anything on paper then used it as party logo.
Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM)
Please, what’s the torchlight for? Is it to remind us that there is no light in Nigeria? Are they trying to shine a light on Nigeria? What does it mean?
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
We know how much Nigerians love anything that signifies enjoyment but we don’t understand what a chicken is looking for on a political party’s logo.
All Progressives Congress (APC)
We’ve always wondered what APC’s broom signified. Over the last three years, we’ve discovered that their plan is to sweep all Nigerians out of the country. How else will you explain the rate at which Nigerians are leaving the country under this government?
National Conscience Party
We don’t know which is funnier, the name of this political party or the logo. As if any Nigerian politician has a conscience. If you don’t close your eyes there.
Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN)
No political party logo vexed us as much as this one. Where is the light to put on the light bulb? They should have just put a generator next to it so we know they are serious.
Re-build Nigeria Party (RBNP)
We are willing to bet this month’s salary that this logo was picked out of one of those old Macmillan textbooks.
Fresh Democratic Party (FDP)
What does the clock signify? Why is the time at 8 o’clock? Was that the exact time Okotie had his vision of becoming the president of Nigeria?
New Generation Party of Nigeria (NGP)
This is how you know the people who don’t want us to progress. 2018 but you don’t want us to be using AC to cool ourselves. We should still be using hand fan?
In the end —all these parties, relevant or not, ugly logos or not, the one thing that gets to decide whether or not we keep them or kick them, is getting your PVC. If you still haven’t gotten yours, do you really want Nigeria to be better? If you are confused as to how to go about it then check out our handy guide to getting your PVC here.
