POLITICS BEYOND BORDERS: CAN A POLITICAL PARTY ESTABLISH A CHAPTER ABROAD?

As Nigeria approaches the 2027 General Elections, political parties and political activists are exploring various strategies aimed at strengthening their organizational structures and expanding their support base. These strategies include political permutations, consultations, mergers, defections, voter and electorate orientation, the formulation of party manifestos, candidate selection and other measures designed to consolidate political support and improve electoral prospects.

One emerging practice, however, deserves closer attention: the establishment of political party chapters and branches outside Nigeria.

Political parties are increasingly creating structures and chapters for Nigerians in the diaspora, including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, and other parts of the world. Proponents of this practice argue that it provides Nigerians in the diaspora with a platform to participate in party affairs and remain connected to political developments in Nigeria. It is presented as a means of promoting inclusiveness, participation, engagement, and representation for Nigerians living abroad, regardless of their country of residence.

However, an important legal question arises: Can a political party registered in Nigeria lawfully establish and operate a formal chapter outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

This question is not merely political. It is also constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and institutional. While Nigerians in the diaspora may participate in political discussions and support political parties, the legal status of a formally established foreign chapter of a Nigerian political party requires careful examination under Nigeria’s applicable electoral laws and regulations.

The central issue, therefore, is whether the establishment of political party chapters abroad is merely an internal organizational arrangement or an activity subject to specific legal restrictions under Nigeria’s electoral framework.

Law Corridor recently handled a matter revolving around this subject matter in the case of PROF. ALI ALAO V ALL PROGRESSIVES ACTION CONGRESS & ANOR. SUIT NO: CV/187/2025. In that case, the APC had established a chapter of its political party in the United Kingdom with the name ‘‘ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS UK CHAPTER’’ with a status equivalent to that of a State chapter in Nigeria and with the said Chapter having the powers to conduct its elections and to appoint executives under the direct supervision of the APC National Working Committee. Members of the chapter were subsequently notified of a proposed Congress where executives of the chapter were to be elected. As a result, interested candidates subsequently purchased nomination forms and made other payments, all of which were paid into the party’s bank account domiciled with Nigerian banks.

The circumstances subsequently generated questions concerning the legality of the arrangement, particularly in relation to the existence of the Chapter, receipt and retention of funds originating from persons resident outside Nigeria and the constitutional obligations imposed upon political parties in respect of foreign contributions and donations.

Thus, the Applicant, who is a UK-based Nigerian citizen and an active member of APC, sought legal clarifications from both the Party and the 2nd Defendant (INEC) as to the legality of making payments into a political party’s bank account from abroad. The issues arising from those inquiries ultimately culminated in the institution of the proceedings before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The crux of the Applicant’s case before the Court was that; whether the 1st Defendant (APC) has the legal power and capacity to establish, hold or maintain any chapter or faction of its political party membership with executive committee or governing council in diaspora outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and received funds from the such foreign chapter without remitting same to INEC pursuant to the combined provisions of Sections 221, 222, 223, 224 and 225 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 82 (1), (2) and (3), 84, 85 and 86 of the Electoral Act, 2022 (the Sections 85 and 86 now Sections 89 and 90 of Electoral Act, 2026).

The APC relied, inter alia, upon Article 9(4) of its Constitution, which purportedly empowers the party to establish chapters outside Nigeria.

The party’s position was, essentially, that this organizational power was consistent with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of association and therefore constituted a legitimate exercise of its internal organizational autonomy.

On the other hand, both the Applicant and the 2nd Defendant (INEC) were ad idem as to the fact that the existence of such diaspora chapter is alien to Nigerian laws and was not contemplated by the Nigerian constitutional and electoral framework. Their position was that a political party registered under Nigerian law could not, by means of a provision contained in its internal constitution, confer upon itself a power that was inconsistent with the Constitution and applicable legislation.

The Applicant further contended that funds received by a political party from persons or organizations outside Nigeria are subject to the constitutional regime regulating foreign contributions and must be accounted for and remitted to INEC in accordance with the applicable constitutional provisions.

In its judgment, the Court held that the Article 9 (4) of APC Constitution which permits the establishment of a chapter in diaspora is in contravention of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and as such, the provision is therefore null and void.

The Court held that by the combined provision of the recital to the Constitution and Sections 221, 222, 223, 224 and 225 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 82 (1), (2) and (3), 84, 85 and 86 of the Electoral Act, 2022, (the Sections 85 and 86 now Sections 89 and 90 of Electoral Act, 2026), the Constitution of Nigeria was enacted to have effect on persons and authorities only within the borders of Nigeria and that the 1st Defendant (APC) has no legal power and capacity to establish, hold, maintain, recognize, supervise or monitor and or receive or maintain, solicit or receive funds from any faction of its political party outside Nigeria.

The court further held that 1st Defendant is under statutory obligation to notify, account and remit all funds assets and financial donations received from persons and organizations in diaspora to INEC within 21 days as stipulated under Section 225 (4) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria and consequently directed the APC to dissolve the diaspora chapter as same is illegal and unknown to law.

The import of this judgment is very vital to our current political dispensation. It is a testament to the fact that political-party autonomy is not synonymous with unfettered organizational discretion. Establishing chapters of a political party outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not merely an internal affair of a political party; rather, it is a significant constitutional issue that must be carefully operated within the legal framework. While Nigerians abroad are not precluded from identifying with a political party, there are legal and statutory limitations to the extent at which people in the diaspora may participate in a party’s affairs.

The law forbids any political party duly registered in Nigeria from formally establishing a chapter or faction of its political party abroad. Additionally, a political party is forbidden from receiving funds or assets from any person or organization outside Nigeria under any circumstances. Any funds received must be accounted for and remitted to INEC within 21 days, failure of which shall constitute a punishable offence.

The decision in PROF. ALI ALAO v. ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS & ANOR, SUIT NO: CV/187/2025 therefore raises a fundamental proposition for Nigeria’s contemporary political jurisprudence: the geographical extension of a political party’s membership does not necessarily translate into a corresponding legal authority to extend the party’s formal organizational structure beyond Nigeria.

While Nigerians resident abroad may continue to identify with Nigerian political parties and participate in political discourse, the establishment of a formal foreign chapter possessing executive, electoral, administrative, or financial powers presents a fundamentally different legal question.

The broader implication is therefore significant. As Nigerian political parties increasingly seek to engage their supporters and members across international borders in anticipation of the 2027 General Elections, diaspora political engagement must be carefully distinguished from the establishment of formal overseas party organs.

Ultimately, the limitation is not for Nigerians abroad participating in Nigeria’s political process. Rather, the observance of the legal limitation in the form, extent, and institutional mechanism through which such participation may lawfully occur under Nigeria’s constitutional and electoral framework.

Sunday Adebayo Esq.
Managing Associate Partner and Head,
Litigation, Election Petition and Dispute Resolution (LED) Practice Group,

Farida Musah Esq.
Associate and Member,
Family, Succession and Wealth Management (FSW) Practice Group