BREAKING: Court orders INEC to deregister ADC, Accord, three other political parties
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Accord party and three other political parties over their alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration.
Justice Peter Lifu issued the order in a judgment delivered on Monday, holding that the affected parties breached provisions of Section 225 of the Nigerian Constitution, which empowers INEC to deregister political parties that fail to win elective positions at the federal, state and local government levels.
The suit was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators against INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the affected political parties. The plaintiffs argued that the parties no longer met the constitutional threshold for continued existence as registered political organisations.
The parties affected by the court order are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
According to the plaintiffs, the parties failed to secure elective seats or satisfy the minimum requirements stipulated by the Constitution and the Electoral Act. They urged the court to declare that INEC had a constitutional duty to remove such parties from its register and prevent them from participating in future elections.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, who was joined as a defendant in the suit, supported the action and the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.
The judgment is expected to have significant implications for the 2027 general elections and the forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states. If implemented immediately, candidates contesting on the platforms of the affected parties could be disqualified from participating in the elections.
Among prominent politicians who may be affected by the ruling are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who recently emerged as the ADC presidential candidate, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of Accord ahead of the state’s governorship election scheduled for August.
