A member of the House of Representatives, Oluwole Oke, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove political parties that are inactive and only exist to exploit Nigeria’s election system.
Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency in Osun State, said many of these parties do not take part in campaigns or field candidates, but suddenly show up to file post-election cases in court. He said their real goal is to extort money from winning candidates who are afraid of losing their seats due to legal technicalities.
“There are many cases where parties that did not campaign or contest properly are the first to file election petitions,” he said in a statement released in Abuja on Monday. “They expect winners to settle out of court with large amounts of money just to avoid losing their mandate.”
He warned that this trend has become a business for desperate individuals and is harming Nigeria’s democracy.
Oke said these inactive parties waste public funds, confuse voters with long ballot papers, and overcrowd the courts with unnecessary lawsuits. He asked INEC to carry out an audit of all political parties and remove those that do not meet the basic requirements.
Citing Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution as amended, he urged INEC to act fast. “Political parties that meet constitutional conditions for deregistration must be promptly removed from the register,” he said.
He also called on the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act so that only parties that truly participated in an election can file petitions. “The National Assembly should reinforce the doctrine of locus standi in our electoral jurisprudence,” he added.
