Political parties remain the most instrumental institution of modern representative democracy. However, the capability of parties to perform these functions depends on the extent to which they are institutionalised. Institutionalised parties are a condition sine qua non to the development of stable and sustainable democratic governance. This research is not about institutionalised or un-institutionallsed parties. It is about examining and assessing the processes and patterns of party institution allocation in Nigeria. The study argues that understanding the process of political party institutionalisation should not be divorced from the nature and character of political, socio-cultural and economic context under which parties emerge and operate. The stud), employs interpretivist philosophical approach and qualitative methodology and uses party institution alisation framework of analysis pioneered by Randall and Svasand (2002). Based on its findings, the study argues that the major problems affecting party institutionalisation in Nigeria arc noted in entrenched chentelistic and nco-patrimonial politics in Nigeria. Although, other factors, , such as ethno-rcligious chauvinism, sectional divisions, poverty and weakness of institutional designs for the formation and activitics of partics affect part) institutionalisation, the study maintaincs that these problems arc often clouded in clientclism and patronage politics. Despite these problerns, the stud), strongly maintains that clientelism and nco-patrimonial politics have transformed party politics, to the extent that today there are political parties whose activities transcend cthno-sccuonal and religious politics. The trans formation of clieritelism has also led to the emergence of powerful political clites known as godfathers (godfatherism) who control both party organisations and institutions of governance. Thcsc problems have weakened tile autonomy of parties and personallsed tile institutions of political parties. CIvcn the nature of the activities of political parties and the seeming uncontrollable influence of godfathers, there was general public cynicism about party in sfitutionalisation in Nigeria. The study however, concludes that the transformation of clientellsi-n and neopatrimonialism could perhaps be the beginning of political party development in the country, especially if Influence of godfathers is institutionally curtailed and economic wellbeing of citizens improved.