Section 81
Merger of political parties(1) Any two or more registered political parties may merge on approval by the Commission following a formal request presented to the Commission by the political parties for that purpose.
(2) Political parties intending to merge shall each give to the Commission nine months’ notice of their intention to do so before a general election.
(3) The written request for merger shall be sent to the Chairman of the Commission and shall be signed jointly by the National Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer for the time being of the different political parties proposing the merger and shall be accompanied by—
(a) a special resolution passed by the national convention of each of the political parties proposing to merge, approving the merger;
(b) the proposed full name and acronym, Constitution, manifesto, symbol or logo of the party together with the addresses of the national office of the party resulting from the merger; and
(c) evidence of payment of administrative fee as may be fixed by the Commission.
(4) On receipt of the request for merger of political parties the Commission shall consider the request, and if the parties have fulfilled the requirements of the Constitution and this Act, approve the proposed merger and communicate its decision to the parties concerned before the expiration of 60 days from the date of receipt of the formal request:
Provided that where the Commission fails to communicate its decision within 60 days, the parties shall within 14 days thereafter challenge the decision of the Commission at the court and establish by cogent and verifiable reason that they have met all the constitutional requirements for merger.
(5) Where the request for the proposed merger is approved, the Commission shall withdraw and cancel the certificates of registration of all the political parties opting for the merger and substitute a single certificate of registration in the name of the party resulting from the merger.
This provision empowers the Commission to approve the merger of two or more registered political parties and outlines the procedure to achieve same. The effect of a merger is the creation of a new party, and subsequent withdrawal and cancellation of certificates of registration of the merging political parties. For example, in 2013, the three largest opposition parties at the time – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) along with a breakaway faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) merged to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). The individual registrations of the three opposition parties were withdrawn and replaced with that of the APC.
Political Parties intending to merge are required to give the Commission 9 month-notice before a general election. The repealed Act previously provided for a 90-day notice before a general election. This amendment most likely follows from the enlarged timelines to activities in the electoral cycle such as notice of elections, nominations, submission of list of candidates etc.
The repealed Act required a N100,000 administrative cost for mergers payable to INEC but the 2022 Act leaves the amount to INEC’s discretion.
The time for INEC to respond to a merger request is expanded to 60 days from the date of receipt of the request for merger [formerly 30 days in the repealed Act].
Approval of a merger by default where INEC fails to respond within the prescribed time which was allowed in the 2010 Act is deleted in the 2022 Act. Parties would now have to go to court to challenge INEC’s decision not to allow a merger or its failure to respond to a merger request.
Note: Merger of political parties is recognized by the Constitution as a valid ground for a sitting member of a Legislative House (National or State Assembly) to defect to another party. See sections 69 and 109 of the 1999 Constitution.
APC v. INEC & ORS (2014) LPELR-24036 (SC)
"Sec. 84 (5) [of the 2010 Act] deals with steps to be taken in the merger process. It provides: "Where the request for the proposed merger is approved the Commission shall: 1) Withdraw and cancel the certificates of registration of all the political parties opting for the merger and 2) Substitute a SINGLE certificate of registration in the name of the party resulting from the merger."
See also: DELTA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY & ANOR v. DPP & ORS (2014) LPELR-22808(CA)
Politics of Merger of Political Parties in Nigeria: The Past and Present Efforts to Evolve Two Major Parties by Nwankwo Jonathan Chidi
