A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed March 24 for its ruling on a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister four political parties over alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/25, was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, with INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the African Democratic Congress, Accord Party, Zenith Labour Party and Action Alliance listed as defendants. Initially, only the ADC was mentioned, but the suit was later amended to include the other parties.
The group argues that INEC is constitutionally required to deregister parties that do not attain minimum electoral performance, such as winning at least 25 per cent of votes in one state during a presidential election or securing any elective seat at federal, state or local government level. In an affidavit, the forum’s chairman, Igbokwe Raphael Nnanna, accused INEC of neglecting this duty by continuing to recognise parties that have not met these thresholds since their registration.
The plaintiff is asking the court for declaratory orders compelling INEC to enforce the constitutional benchmarks and for injunctions restraining the commission from recognising or giving effect to the activities of the affected parties until they fully comply. It also contends that allowing such parties to take part in the 2027 general elections would crowd ballot papers, waste public resources and weaken electoral integrity.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Justice Peter Lifu heard arguments on a pending motion for joinder and directed the two lawyers who appeared for Action Alliance, Ibrahim Yakubu and Bello Lukman, to agree on who will represent the party before the next sitting. He warned that he would take appropriate action if they failed to resolve the representation issue.
Counsel to Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi, sought the court’s permission to file a further counter affidavit to oppose applications by parties seeking to be joined in the suit, saying the new filing was needed to address additional facts not captured earlier.
Lawyer to the plaintiff, Yakubu Ruba, opposed the move, insisting that no new facts were introduced in the amended originating summons and that a further counter affidavit was unnecessary and incompetent. He urged the court to refuse the application.
Speaking with reporters after the session, Ruba said the suit is aimed at securing a clear judicial interpretation of the constitutional and statutory rules governing the registration and continued recognition of political parties in Nigeria.
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