A fresh wave of political anxiety has gripped the camps of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delist the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party among others.
This comes after a list emerged from the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, compelling the court to demand that INEC immediately delist ADC, Accord, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for failing to win the required legislative seats or hit the statutory voting percentages.
The presiding judge, Peter Lifu, issued the order in a judgment on Monday.
The presiding judge noted that the affected parties breached Section 225 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The section gives INEC the power to deregister political parties that have failed to win any elective position in the previous round of elections at the federal, state, and local government levels.
The plaintiffs in the suit argued that the parties no longer met the constitutional threshold for continued existence as registered political parties.
They relied on Section 225(a) of the Constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act, insisting the parties failed to win elective seats or meet minimum requirements in elections.
They asked the court to hold that INEC has a constitutional duty to deregister political parties that fail to meet the legal conditions.
The plaintiffs also sought an order compelling INEC to remove the parties from its register and restrain them from participating in future elections.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, joined as a defendant in the suit, threw his office behind the suit and the prayers sought.
The judgment will have far-reaching implications for the upcoming general elections, which are about seven to eight months away, and the off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
If the judgment is immediately enforced, it means an automatic disqualification for the candidates of the affected political parties and will dramatically reshape the political landscape ahead of the elections in which the candidates of the parties are major contenders.
Among notable candidates in the firing line of the verdict are Atiku Abubakar, who recently emerged as the presidential candidate of the ADC, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking a second term in office on the platform of Accord in the governorship election slated for August.
