The 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 alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued existence.
The affected parties are the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Justice Peter Lifu issued the order while delivering judgement in a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, a coalition of former federal and state lawmakers advocating electoral reforms and a reduction in the proliferation of political parties in the country.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, the group asked the court to determine whether INEC had a constitutional duty to deregister political parties that failed to satisfy the performance benchmarks stipulated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and relevant electoral regulations.
The former lawmakers argued that the five parties had consistently failed to secure the electoral thresholds required to retain their registration, including winning at least 25% of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing elective positions at the federal, state or local government levels.
