A 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 failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued political recognition.
Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered the judgment on Monday, directed INEC to strike the affected parties from its register for allegedly failing to meet electoral performance thresholds under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution.
The affected parties are ADC, Accord Party, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, and Zenith Labour Party.
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The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, which asked the court to compel INEC to enforce constitutional provisions requiring political parties to attain minimum electoral performance to retain registration.
The court held that the plaintiffs successfully established that the affected parties did not meet the constitutional requirements and ordered INEC to enforce their deregistration.
The ruling also bars the affected parties from participating in future elections unless they meet the conditions for registration under the law.
The judgment has already generated a strong reaction from the African Democratic Congress, which rejected the decision and insisted it would challenge it at the appellate court.
Party officials described the ruling as unacceptable and warned against what they called an attempt to undermine Nigeria’s democratic process.
The case centers on the interpretation of Section 225A of the Constitution, which empowers INEC to deregister political parties that fail to meet statutory performance thresholds.
The ruling is expected to be appealed, setting the stage for a fresh legal battle that could have major implications for Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.
