A Federal High Court will rule on the deregistration of four Nigerian political parties, including ADC, AP, ZLP, and AA, on March 24, 2026
A Federal High Court in Abuja will on March 24 rule on a case seeking the deregistration of four political parties in Nigeria: the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance (AA).
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The decision follows a request to include additional parties in the ongoing suit.
The case was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the affected political parties.
Initially, the suit targeted only ADC but was later amended to incorporate the other three parties.
The NFFL argues that INEC is constitutionally mandated to deregister parties that fail to meet specific requirements, including scoring at least 25 per cent of votes in a single state during a presidential election or winning elective seats at any government level.
According to the plaintiffs, some parties have neither met these benchmarks nor won any positions since registration, yet remain recognised by INEC.
The group is seeking a court order compelling INEC to enforce these constitutional provisions and prevent the parties from participating in the 2027 general elections unless they comply.
The NFFL further contends that allowing noncompliant parties to participate would overcrowd ballot papers, waste public funds, and undermine the electoral process.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Justice Peter Lifu directed lawyers representing Action Alliance to clarify who would officially appear for the party at the next court date.
Lawyers for Accord Party requested permission to file an additional counter-affidavit, which the plaintiff opposed, arguing that no new facts had been presented in the amended suit.
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Yakubu Ruba (SAN), representing the NFFL, explained that the case primarily seeks judicial interpretation of constitutional and legal provisions governing the registration and continued recognition of political parties in Nigeria.
