Former Lawmakers Ask Court to Deregister ADC Over Weak Electoral Performance

A group of former federal lawmakers has taken the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to court, asking a Federal High Court in Abuja to order its deregistration over what they describe as persistently weak electoral results.

The suit, filed as FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2025, was brought by the National Forum of Former Legislators and signed by its coordinator, Raphael Igbokwe. In an accompanying affidavit, he argued that the party no longer meets the constitutional and statutory standards required to remain on the national register.

Igbokwe, a former representative of Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency in Imo State, said the ADC failed to secure 25 per cent of votes in any state during the last presidential election and did not win a single position in the August bye-elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He described the results as falling below the minimum performance benchmarks set out in the Constitution and the Electoral Act.

The applicants are asking the court to affirm that the party has not met the conditions outlined in Sections 222 and 225A of the Constitution, which empower INEC to deregister parties that breach registration requirements or fall short of electoral thresholds. INEC has exercised these powers before, most notably in 2020 when it deregistered 74 parties for poor performance, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court.

The ADC currently holds just one seat in the House of Representatives and has no presence in the Senate. Despite its limited electoral footprint, the party recently became the centre of a new opposition coalition following the entry of Atiku Abubakar after his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party. Peter Obi is aligned with the coalition but is not formally registered with the ADC.

Party leaders say the coalition aims to prevent Nigeria from gravitating toward a one-party structure while positioning itself for the 2027 presidential race. Tensions remain within the party, however, as some stakeholders—including 2023 presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu—oppose the coalition’s influence.

Other prominent figures involved in the alliance include David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi, Abubakar Malami, and Babachir Lawal.