Appeal Court Halts Enforcement Of High Court Ruling Deregistering ADC, Accord Party, AA, 2 Others

The Court of Appeal, Abuja has halted the enforcement of the court ruling directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to derecognize African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and three other political parties.

The appellate court ordered INEC not to take any action in respect of derecognizing the aforementioned political parties pending its decision on a suit with docket numbers CA/ABJ/CV/569/2026 and FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2025 .

Recall that the Court of Appeal had ordered Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja to stay further action on the suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) until the hearing and determination of the Appeal before it

Justice Peter Lfu had however on Monday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to derecognize the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

In the suit that had FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026 as its docket number , the NFFL had prayed the court to determine whether INEC has the 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 the electoral body’s regulations.

The former legislators emphasized that the requirements include winning at least 25 per cent 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 election and the subsequent by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.

The litigants insisted that the continued existence and recognition of ADC and four others as political parties 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 derecognize the parties in question.

Beyond declaratory reliefs, the plaintiff had also prayed the court to restrain the five affected parties from participating in the upcoming general election or engaging in political activities such as campaigns, rallies, and primaries.

It  had also sought an injunction restraining INEC from recognizing or dealing with the parties in any official capacity unless and until they strictly comply with constitutional provisions.

The three-man panel of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday described Justice Lifu’s action as ‘a brazen disregard for the higher court and judicial impertinence’-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079,  08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you