Five political parties the ADC, APP, AA, Accord Party, and ZLP face de-registration following a Federal High Court order in Abuja.
Justice Peter Lifu directed INEC to strip the parties of their registration after they failed to meet mandatory electoral benchmarks.
The legal action was initiated by the National Forum of Former Legislators (Suit FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026), who maintained that underperforming parties must be removed in line with Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
The former lawmakers successfully argued that the five parties persistently failed to hit required targets, which include winning at least one elective seat at any government level or securing 25% of the votes in at least one state during a presidential election.
They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.
The litigants insisted that the continued existence of the ADC and the other defendants as recognised 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 deregister such parties.
It further urged the court to compel the commission to deregister the five political parties before preparations for the 2027 elections advance further.
Apart from declaratory reliefs, the plaintiff prayed the court to restrain the five affected parties from participating in general elections or engaging in political activities such as campaigns, rallies, and primaries.
It also sought a court injunction restraining INEC from recognising or dealing with the parties in any official capacity unless and until they strictly comply with constitutional provisions.
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