The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to halt the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Accord Party, and three other political parties.
The move comes just a day after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered INEC to deregister five political parties for allegedly failing to meet constitutional requirements to retain their registration.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had, in a judgment delivered on Monday, directed the electoral commission to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The judge further ordered INEC to bar the affected parties from participating in future elections, including the 2027 general elections, after finding that they failed to satisfy the constitutional threshold required for political parties to maintain their legal status.
However, in a fresh twist, INEC has now asked the Court of Appeal to stay the execution of the judgment pending the determination of its appeal against the ruling.
The legal move is expected to temporarily shield the affected parties from immediate deregistration while appellate proceedings continue.
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators against the five political parties. INEC was listed as the first defendant, while the Attorney-General of the Federation was also joined in the suit.
The plaintiff had argued that the affected parties no longer met constitutional requirements relating to electoral performance and national spread and should therefore be removed from the register of political parties.
It was gathered that the forum contended that the parties failed to secure at least 25 per cent of the votes in the elections as required by law and had consequently lost the legal basis to continue operating as registered political parties.
Justice Lifu, while delivering the judgment, dismissed several preliminary objections raised by the defendants and held that the arguments presented by the plaintiff had merit.
The ruling immediately sparked concern among members and supporters of the affected parties, particularly the ADC, which has in recent months gained increased national attention following efforts by opposition politicians to use the platform as a vehicle for coalition politics ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The ADC has recently attracted prominent political figures seeking to build a broad opposition alliance capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next election cycle.
The party has chosen a former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, as its presidential candidate for the forthcoming general elections.
(SaharaReporters)
