Court orders INEC to deregister ADC, Accord, 3 others

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deregister five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and Accord Party, over their alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration.

The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Accord Party, Action Alliance, AA, Action Peoples Party, APP, and Zenith Labour Party, ZLP.

The ruling followed a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the parties no longer satisfied the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their status as registered political parties in Nigeria.

The plaintiffs contended that INEC had failed in its constitutional duty by allowing the parties to remain on its register despite poor electoral performance.

In the judgment, the court held that the electoral commission is bound by the provisions of Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the commission to deregister political parties that fail to meet specified electoral thresholds.

The legal challenge had received the backing of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who argued that the continued recognition of the affected parties undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.

He maintained that INEC’s refusal to act amounted to a breach of its constitutional responsibilities.

According to court documents, the plaintiffs argued that none of the affected parties secured the required electoral performance in recent elections and by-elections, making their continued registration unconstitutional.

They urged the court to compel INEC to enforce the relevant constitutional provisions ahead of preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The judgment is expected to have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s political landscape, particularly as opposition parties continue to reposition themselves ahead of the next election cycle.

Political analysts say the ruling could significantly alter coalition-building efforts among opposition figures, especially given ADC’s growing prominence as a platform for political realignments in recent months.

As of the time of filing this report, INEC had not issued an official statement on the implementation of the court’s order, while leaders of the affected parties were expected to challenge the ruling at the appellate courts.

The decision marks one of the most significant judicial interventions in Nigeria’s party system in recent years and could reshape the country’s electoral landscape ahead of the 2027 polls.