Deregistration: INEC backs political parties, seeks judgment’s stay of execution
The Independent National Electoral Commission has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking a stay of execution of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking a stay of execution of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties.
The electoral body also backed the notice of appeal filed by the affected parties against the ruling.
PUNCH Online had reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, had on Monday ordered INEC to deregister the ADC, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party, ruling that they failed to meet constitutional requirements necessary to retain their registration.
At the resumed hearing before a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, INEC, through its counsel, Haliru Mohammed, said the commission was surprised that the lower court proceeded to deliver the judgment despite an earlier order of the appellate court.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5,” Mohammed said.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media.
“We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment.”
Counsel to the ADC, Mr. Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), also informed the appellate court that the party received notification of the judgment through a WhatsApp message from the trial court.
Aruwa urged the appellate court to intervene, arguing that the lower court’s decision was delivered despite the subsisting order of the Court of Appeal.
“Sincerely, my Lords, a lot has happened to the judiciary and this profession. What the trial judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgment, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court,” he said.
“The action of the trial judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We have come to the stage where this court should press the reset button.
“We are calling on this court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgment. This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgment immediately without further delay.”
Lawyers representing the affected political parties also drew the court’s attention to the by-elections scheduled by INEC for June 20 in six states, arguing that allowing the judgment to stand could create uncertainties in the electoral process.
They maintained that the Court of Appeal possesses inherent powers to act in a supervisory capacity and ensure compliance with its orders by lower courts.
The appellate court was still taking submissions from parties in the matter as of the time of filing this report.
In the judgment delivered on Monday, Justice Lifu held that the five political parties failed to meet constitutional benchmarks required for their continued existence and participation in future elections.
The court consequently barred INEC from recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.
Justice Lifu also directed the parties to stop presenting themselves as registered political parties in Nigeria.
The ruling followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which asked the court to determine whether INEC had a constitutional obligation to deregister political parties that failed to meet electoral performance thresholds prescribed under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC regulations.
The NFFL argued that the affected parties had consistently failed to meet the constitutional requirements for retaining registration, including winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing elective seats at the national, state or local government levels.
According to the group, the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, thereby failing to secure representation across key levels of government.
The former legislators maintained that the continued recognition of the parties undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
