The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove five political parties from its register over failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued recognition.
Justice Peter Lifu issued the order following a case brought before the court by the National Forum of Former Legislators.
The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
In the suit, the former lawmakers asked the court to interpret whether INEC is required under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and its own regulations to deregister parties that fall short of set performance standards.
They argued that the listed parties had consistently failed to meet the thresholds for retaining registration. These requirements include securing at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning at least one elective seat at federal, state, or local government level.
According to the plaintiffs, the affected parties did not meet these conditions in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, recording no significant electoral victories across key levels of government.
The court agreed with the submissions and issued the directive compelling INEC to proceed with the deregistration.
