Court Orders INEC to Deregister ADC, Four Other Political Parties
The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties over their alleged failure to meet constitutional electoral performance requirements.
The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Justice Peter Lifu issued the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators.
In the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, the plaintiffs argued that the affected parties failed to satisfy the conditions outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and relevant INEC regulations.
According to the former lawmakers, the parties did not achieve the minimum electoral benchmarks required to retain their registration, including securing at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning elective seats at the federal, state, or local government levels.
They maintained that the parties recorded poor performances in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, failing to secure representation across key tiers of government.
The court agreed with the plaintiffs and held that INEC has a constitutional obligation to deregister political parties that fail to meet the prescribed electoral thresholds.
The judgment is expected to have significant implications for Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of future elections.
GaskiyaCast will continue to monitor reactions from INEC and the affected political parties.
