ABUJA, Nigeria, May 2026 — A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties over their failure to meet constitutional performance requirements.
The affected parties are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Okay News reports that the suit challenged the continued registration of the parties despite their electoral performance in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections.
The plaintiff asked the court to determine whether INEC is constitutionally obligated to deregister political parties that fail to satisfy the conditions outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
According to the plaintiff, the parties failed to secure the constitutional thresholds required to retain their registration, including winning elective positions or obtaining at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election.
The suit argued that the parties had consistently failed to meet those requirements and should no longer remain on the register of political parties recognised by INEC.
The plaintiff further contended that retaining parties that failed to achieve the prescribed electoral benchmarks undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system and contradicts constitutional provisions governing political party registration.
In addition to seeking their deregistration, the plaintiff asked the court to restrain the parties from conducting primaries, participating in elections, organising political rallies, or engaging in other political activities pending compliance with constitutional requirements.
Delivering judgment, Justice Peter Lifu upheld the arguments presented by the plaintiff and directed INEC to deregister the five political parties.
