Atiku, Adeleke Affected As Court Orders INEC To Deregister ADC, Accord, Others

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.

The order was given on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu in his ruling on the suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026.

According to him, the affected parties have persistently failed to meet constitutional performance thresholds.

The other parties affected are the Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party.

The National Forum of Former Legislators had, in the suit, prayed the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.

The plaintiff argued that the five political parties listed as defendants in the matter had persistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.

The former legislators stressed that the requirements include winning at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.

They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.

The litigants insisted that the continued existence of the ADC and the other defendants as recognised political parties in Nigeria is unlawful and undermines the integrity of the country’s electoral system.

Among other reliefs, the plaintiff urged the court to declare that INEC is duty-bound to deregister such parties and compel the commission to do so before preparations for the 2027 elections advance further.

The plaintiff also asked the court to restrain the five parties from participating in elections or engaging in political activities such as campaigns, rallies and primaries, and to bar INEC from recognising or dealing with them unless they strictly comply with constitutional provisions.

Naija News reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 elections, while the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord party.

Both politicians and other candidates may be affected by the court ruling.