DistantNews
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

ADC deregistration bid fails legal requirements – INEC

From The Punch · (4m ago) English Mixed tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has opposed the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
  • INEC argues that the application to deregister the ADC failed to meet legal and constitutional requirements.
  • The Attorney-General of the Federation is backing the lawsuit, citing non-performing parties cluttering ballots and draining public funds.

In a significant development within Nigeria's political landscape, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially opposed the bid to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Court documents reveal that INEC has filed a response rejecting the application, asserting that it does not meet the necessary constitutional and legal prerequisites for deregistering a political party. This stance by the electoral umpire is a crucial intervention, potentially derailing efforts to remove the ADC from the roster of registered political entities.

The power to deregister political parties is neither discretionary nor subject to political pressure, but strictly governed by extant laws and constitutional provisions

— INECStating the legal basis for their opposition to the deregistration of the ADC.

INEC's filing emphasizes that the power to deregister political parties is strictly governed by law and cannot be exercised arbitrarily or under political duress. The commission explicitly stated that no legally recognized grounds for deregistration, such as failing to meet electoral performance thresholds or violating registration rules, have been established against the ADC. This legal position is seen by analysts as a major blow to the lawsuit, which also targets other parties like Accord, Action People’s Party, Action Alliance, and Zenith Labour Party.

What we are witnessing is the unravelling of a poorly scripted political ambush designed to cripple opposition voices

— Phrank ShaibuDescribing the alleged attempt to deregister the ADC as politically motivated.

While the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), supports the lawsuit, arguing that non-performing parties burden the electoral system, INEC's counter-position is interpreted as an institutional pushback against the perceived misuse of the judiciary for partisan objectives. Phrank Shaibu, a spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, lauded INEC's move, calling the deregistration attempt politically motivated and a "poorly scripted political ambush." He argued that INEC's intervention validates concerns that the case is more about intimidation than legal compliance, warning against efforts to stifle political competition in Nigeria.

The fact that INEC itself has come forward to puncture the legal vacuum of this application speaks volumes. “It confirms what Nigerians already suspect—that this was never about law, but about intimidation

— Phrank ShaibuCommenting on INEC's opposition and its implications for the case.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog