Sowore Rejects Party Deregistration Order, Adebayo Demands Full INEC Independence

Sowore Rejects Party Deregistration Order, Adebayo Demands Full INEC Independence

Presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has condemned the Federal High Court ruling that directed INEC to deregister five political parties.

Sowore said on Monday that the judgement was undemocratic and inconsistent with the principles of a multi-party system.

In a post on X, he stated that it was unacceptable for parties to be deregistered when they had already concluded their primaries and were preparing for future elections.

Sowore stated, “It shall not stand. I totally condemn the deregistration of political parties that have already concluded their primaries and are preparing for general election. Such an action is undemocratic and unjustifiable in a multi-party democracy.”

Also, the presidential candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP), AdewoleAdebayo, declared that Nigeria had not yet attained true democracy, describing the current system as mere “civilian rule” lacking the core ingredients of accountability, rule of law, credible elections, and citizens’ welfare.

Adebayo, according to a statement by his media office in Abuja, said while the country had enjoyed uninterrupted civilian governance since 1999, successive administrations had failed to deepen democratic values, leaving the nation worse off than it was decades ago.

“Since 1993, only two things have changed — our problems have become bigger, and our democratic space has become smaller,” he said.

The SDP chieftain warned that the twin challenges of poverty and insecurity, if left unaddressed, could degenerate into instability or worse.

“Poverty has grown and given birth to insecurity. If we fail to address both, they may eventually give rise to instability, revolution, or even genocide,” he stated.

Chuks Okocha, Alex Enumah, Sunday Aborisade and Yinka Kolawole