The Youth Party has been officially acknowledged as a political party by the Independent National Electoral Commission following a Supreme Court ruling that overturned its deregistration.
INEC deregistered the Youth Party, among others, in February 2020 for failing to meet the conditions outlined in Section 225(a) of the 1999 constitution (as modified).
Unsatisfied, the YP contested the deregistration at a federal high court in Abuja. The legal fight continued all the way to the Supreme Court, which later overturned the party’s deregistration.
Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said in a statement on Thursday that the electoral body met and discussed on the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s decision to deregister the YP as a political party.
“Based on the judgement of the Supreme Court, the Commission interfaced with officials of the Youth Party on the modalities for its operation based on the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the Regulations and Guidelines of the Commission,” he stated.
“Consequently, the Commission has recognised the Youth Party (YP) as the 19th Political Party in Nigeria with all the rights and privileges accorded political parties in Nigeria.”
