Appeal court adjourns ADC de-registration suit till July 7

The court of appeal in Abuja has adjourned until July 7 the hearing of an appeal challenging the de-registration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and three other political parties.

The appellate court shifted the case to allow all parties file and exchange their briefs of argument before the substantive hearing.

Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), counsel to the Accord Party, Musibau, told the court that the record of appeal and the judgment of the Federal High Court were only obtained earlier this week, prompting a request for a short adjournment.

The appeal follows a federal high court judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to de-register the ADC, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party for allegedly failing to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration.

However, INEC opposed the de-registration, arguing that the affected parties had won elective positions in previous elections and therefore remained qualified under the law.

In a related ruling on June 16, the court of appeal ordered a stay of execution of the federal high court judgment, preventing INEC from enforcing the de-registration pending the outcome of the appeal.

The case was instituted by the national forum of former legislators, which argued that the affected parties failed to meet electoral performance benchmarks stipulated by the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.

The appeal is now expected to be heard on July 7.