The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking to halt the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The electoral commission on Tuesday informed the appellate court that it supports the appeal filed by the affected parties and does not oppose their request for a stay of execution of the controversial judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Lifu had on Monday ruled that the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) failed to satisfy constitutional requirements for continued registration and directed INEC to deregister them.
However, during proceedings before a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, counsel to INEC, Haliru Mohammed, argued that the commission was taken by surprise by the delivery of the judgment, insisting that the appellate court had earlier issued an order halting the lower court from delivering its verdict.
According to Mohammed, the commission only became aware of the judgment through media reports.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court,” he told the court.
He added that INEC had received no formal communication indicating that the judgment would be delivered and therefore supported efforts to suspend its implementation pending the determination of the appeal.
Counsel to the ADC, Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), also challenged the validity of the judgment, revealing that the party only became aware of the ruling through a WhatsApp message from the trial court.
Aruwa accused the trial judge of disregarding the authority of the Court of Appeal by proceeding with the judgment despite an existing order staying its delivery.
He urged the appellate court to take immediate action to protect the integrity of the judicial process and prevent what he described as a direct challenge to its authority.
Lawyers representing the other affected political parties echoed similar concerns, warning that the judgment could create uncertainty ahead of by-elections scheduled by INEC in several states later this month.
They argued that the Court of Appeal possesses supervisory powers over lower courts and should act swiftly to ensure compliance with its orders.
The appellate court was still hearing arguments from the parties as of the time of filing this report.
The dispute stems from a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which asked the Federal High Court to determine whether INEC had a constitutional obligation to deregister political parties that failed to meet electoral performance benchmarks outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC regulations.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu held that the affected parties failed to satisfy the constitutional thresholds required to maintain their registration. He consequently barred INEC from recognising the parties, accepting candidates nominated by them or allowing them to participate in future elections, including the 2027 general election.
The judge also directed the parties to stop presenting themselves as registered political parties in Nigeria.
The NFFL had argued that the parties failed to secure the minimum electoral performance required under the law, including winning a significant percentage of votes in presidential elections or obtaining representation at the federal, state or local government levels.
According to the group, the continued existence of the parties despite their poor electoral performance weakens the credibility and effectiveness of Nigeria’s electoral system.
The Court of Appeal’s eventual decision on the stay application is expected to determine whether the five parties retain their legal status pending the final resolution of the case.
