All Democratic Alliance (ADA) has strongly condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its refusal to register the association as a political party, describing the decision as unjust, premeditated and dangerous to Nigeria’s democratic growth.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, December 25, 2025, and signed by its Protem National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Leye Igbabo, the group said it had fully complied with all constitutional and administrative requirements for registration, yet was denied approval without any prior objection from the electoral body.
ADA recalled that it was among 172 associations that initially applied for registration and later made it to the final shortlist of eight cleared by INEC for verification.
According to the statement, the association received a letter from INEC on Friday, December 5, 2025, notifying it of a verification exercise scheduled for Monday, December 8, 2025.
“Even though the notice was short and suspicious, all members of the NEC across the entire Nigeria made themselves available for the verification exercise,” the party said.
It added that INEC officials, who conducted the exercise at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, apologised for the short notice and commended ADA for its level of preparedness.
“INEC apologized for the very short notice and equally hailed our level of preparedness for the verification exercise. Our National Office at Abuja is well located and equipped for the convenience and comfort of both NEC members and any visitors,” the statement noted.
The party further stressed that all its 36 state chapters were operational and open for political activities, insisting that at no point during the registration process did INEC raise any concerns about missing or inadequate documentation.
“Throughout the registration exercise and up to the day of the verification, there was never any time that INEC complained about any information not supplied to it. All information were supplied within the stipulated time frame and which INEC did acknowledge accordingly,” ADA said.
Against this backdrop, the alliance described INEC’s refusal to register it as “rude, crude, brazen and predetermined,” warning that such actions were “highly ominous, calamitous and disastrous to the survival of our hard-earned democracy.”
The party called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene, urging him to rein in government agencies it accused of undermining democratic institutions.
“We patriotically call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) to rein in his agencies which are becoming stumbling blocks to the sustenance of democratic project in Nigeria. Our hard-earned democracy must be allowed to flourish in the overall interest of the public,” the statement read.
While acknowledging the right of any public office holder to seek re-election, ADA cautioned against suppressing opposition or blocking the emergence of new political platforms.
“Such ambition must be based on good performance score card and not muzzling of opposition parties or denying registration of new ones that can avail the electorate the opportunity to choose their preferred representatives,” it said, adding that “the hard-earned democracy must not be sacrificed on the altar of personal ambition.”
The party went further to express concern over what it termed a regression in democratic values, noting that “this level of gangsterism did not even surface during the tenures of the Military General-turned politicians.”
“We are deeply worried that our democracy is now faltering and heading towards a huge rock under Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who once claimed to be an unrepentant democracy fighter,” the statement added.
ADA, however, said it would seek legal redress, confirming that it had resolved to challenge INEC’s decision in court.
“The All Democratic Alliance has resolved to challenge INEC in the competent court of law over its refusal to register it as a political party, having satisfied all conditions precedent to such registration, and we are confident that justice, according to its motto, shall ultimately prevail,” the group said.
It also called on key stakeholders — including government officials, the electoral body and the judiciary — to act deliberately and patriotically in safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic experiment.
“Otherwise, the democratic system may hit the rock and the consequences, as we should know, would be a monumental disaster that is rare in the annals of Nigeria’s chequered political history,” the statement warned.