‎Court Orders INEC to Deregister Atiku’s Party ADC, Four Other Parties Over Poor Electoral Performance ‎

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), over their failure to meet constitutional electoral requirements.
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‎The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
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‎The ruling was delivered by Justice Peter Lifu following a suit filed by a group of former lawmakers who challenged the continued registration of the parties despite what they described as poor electoral performance.
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‎The plaintiffs argued that under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), INEC is empowered to deregister political parties that fail to secure at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or win elective positions at the federal, state, or local government levels.
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‎According to the suit, the five parties failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks during the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections but remained on the register of political parties.
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‎The former lawmakers contended that allowing such parties to continue operating undermines the integrity and competitiveness of Nigeria’s electoral system. They urged the court to compel INEC to enforce the constitutional provisions ahead of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
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‎In his judgment, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiffs and directed INEC to commence the deregistration of the affected parties.
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‎The plaintiffs had also sought orders restraining the parties from conducting primaries, political rallies, or participating in elections pending compliance with constitutional requirements.
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