Key points
- The Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the immediate deregistration of the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties.
- The affected political parties failed to secure the constitutionally required 25% vote threshold during the last general elections.
- Justice Peter Lifu barred the affected political organizations from participating in subsequent elections, including the 2027 polls.
- The legal suit was instituted against the parties and the Attorney-General by a forum of former national and state legislators.
- Defendants failed to effectively counter legal arguments relating to their lack of required electoral spread and performance.
Main Story
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties for failing to meet the statutory and constitutional requirements to operate within the country.
Presiding Judge, Justice Peter Lifu, delivered the landmark judgment, directing the electoral umpire to strip the affected parties of their registration status after they failed to secure at least 25% of the votes cast in the last general elections, as strictly mandated by Nigerian law. The five political institutions affected by the judicial order include the ADC, Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The legal action, marked as suit FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was instituted by a civil group identified as the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators. The plaintiffs joined both INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as defendants, arguing that the continuous existence of the five political entities violated legal frameworks governing party performance and geographical spread. The former lawmakers contended that any political party that fails to reach the 25% electoral threshold in prescribed national polls loses its legal right to remain on the ballot.
Before delivering the final ruling, Justice Lifu systematically reviewed and dismissed multiple preliminary objections raised by the defense counsels. The court noted that none of the affected political parties provided effective counterarguments to disprove their poor electoral performance. Consequently, Justice Lifu ruled in favor of the forum of former legislators and explicitly ordered INEC to bar the five deregistered parties from participating in any subsequent regional or national elections, including the upcoming 2027 general elections.
The Issues
- Disrupting recently announced 2027 alliance strategies and joint presidential tickets due to the sudden loss of official party regularizations.
- Managing the bureaucratic process for INEC to formally purge the logs and symbols of five distinct political parties from upcoming ballots.
- Navigating potential appellate court challenges as affected party headers move to appeal the high court’s interpretation of the 25% vote requirement.
What’s Being Said
- Validating the plaintiffs’ arguments regarding constitutional compliance, the National Forum of Former Legislators contended that political parties were required to secure at least 25% of votes in prescribed elections to remain relevant under the law, asserting that the defendants failed to counter the claim.
What’s Next
- National executives from the ADC, Accord, and the other affected parties will convene emergency meetings to prepare legal appeals against the deregistration judgment.
- INEC’s legal department will issue an official operational directive to comply with the court order and freeze the participation of the five parties in pending local polls.
- Political strategists will recalibrate their alignment blueprints for the 2027 general elections, forcing displaced candidates to seek shelter under surviving alternative parties.
Bottom Line
The Federal High Court’s order to deregister the ADC and four other political parties for missing the 25% electoral vote threshold reshapes Nigeria’s political landscape, disqualifying these groups from the 2027 elections and throwing their recent merger plans into legal limbo.
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