Political Parties in Nigeria

Class: Basic 5 

Subject: Civic Education 

Topic: Political Parties in Nigeria. 

A political party is an organized group of people who have the same ideology, or who otherwise have the same political positions. 

Political parties are groups of people who field candidates for elections, in an attempt to get them elected and thereby implement the party’s agenda. They are a defining element of representative democracy. 

The Role of Political Parties. 

As the electorate expanded, the political parties evolved to mobilize the growing mass of voters as the means of political control. Political parties became institutionalized to accomplish this essential task.

Major party: a political party having electoral strength sufficient to permit it to win control of a government usually with comparative regularity and when defeated to constitute the principal opposition to the party in power. For example in Nigeria, APC is the ruling parties with majority, while the major opposition party is PDP. 

The Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) was Nigeria’s first political party. Formed in 1923 by Herbert Macaulay to take advantage of the new Clifford Constitution, which succeeded the 1914 Nigerian Council.

List of political parties in Nigeria

This list comprises of some of the political parties in the government of Nigeria.

African Action Congress (AAC)

Alliance for Democracy (AD)

Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN)

Action Democratic Party (Nigeria) (ADP)

Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA)

All Progressives Congress (APC)

African Democratic Congress (ADC)

All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)

Because Of Our Tomorrow [BOOT Party]

Conscience People’s Congress [CPC]

Citizens Popular Party (CPP)

Democratic Alternative (DA)

Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)

Grassroot Patriotic Party (GPP)

Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP)

KOWA Party (KP)

Labour Party (LP) 

National Conscience Party (NCP)

National Interest Party (NIP)

New Democrats (ND)

People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA)

People Progressive Party (PPP)

People’s Redemption Party (PRP)

People’s Salvation Party (PSP)

Restoration Party of Nigeria (RP)

Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP)

Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN)

Social Democratic Party (SDP)

Exercise:

1. What is political party?

2. Mention five political parties in Nigeria

3. Who formed the first political party in Nigeria?

4. In what year was the first political party formed?