The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has on Tuesday approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to seek a stay of execution of a judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordering the deregistration of the Accord, African Democratic Congress (ADC) and three political parties.
The move comes barely a day after the Federal High Court judge, Peter Lifu, ordered the electoral commission to deregister the parties on the grounds that they failed to satisfy constitutional requirements to retain their status.
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Apart from Accord and ADC, other parties affected by the judgmeent are Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
INEC, as one of the parties to the suit, had opposed the hearing of the suit at the Federal High Court. But the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, joined as a defendant, threw the weight of his office behind the suit and its prayers for the deregistration of the opposition political parties.
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By filing for a stay of execution, INEC asked the appellate court to suspend the implementation of the judgement pending the determination of legal challenges arising from the case.
An immediate enforcement of the judgement would automatically disqualify former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who emerged last month as ADC’s presidential candidate, to contest the 2027 presidential election, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke from seeking re-election in the off-cycle governorship election slated to come up in two months’ time, in August, in the state.
Both Atiku and Adeleke are indisputably major contenders standing against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming national and state elections.
INEC’s request for stay of execution of the judgement provides temporary relief for the two politicians and a host of others hanging their hope of contesting next year’s general elections on the affected parties. Some of the affected parties, particularly the ADC and Accord, are central to ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections and forthcoming governorship contests in states such as Osun and Ekiti.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Federal High Court ruling followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the affected parties had persistently failed to meet the performance thresholds prescribed under Section 225 (a) of the Nigerian constitution.
The plaintiff contended that the parties neither secured the minimum electoral performance required under the Constitution nor won enough elective offices to justify their continued existence as registered political parties.
Mr Lifu agreed with the arguments and ordered INEC to remove the parties from its register.
However, the judgement immediately sparked controversy as the Court of Appeal already issued an order of stay of proceedings regarding the case.
Following Monday’s judgement, both the Accord and the ADC rejected the ruling and vowed to challenge it through the appellate courts.
Governor Adeleke described the decision as an abuse of the court process, stating that the matter is at the Court of Appeal and had already adjourned proceedings to October. The governor insisted that the Accord Party would remain on the ballot for the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State.
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Similarly, the ADC said it would exhaust all legal and constitutional avenues to overturn the judgement, arguing that the ruling amounted to an attempt to weaken opposition parties ahead of future elections.
INEC’s decision to seek a stay of execution is expected to become a major factor in the legal battle over the future of the affected parties.
Legal analysts expressed that the commission’s action suggests that the earlier ruling may not immediately implement the deregistration order until all judicial processes have been exhausted.
The appeal proceedings are likely to determine whether the affected parties will retain their legal registration status as preparations intensify for future elections across the country.
