Adeleke dismisses court order deregistering Accord, other parties, hails LG dispute victory

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Monday dismissed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the Accord Party and four other opposition parties. He insisted the ruling would not impact his participation in the upcoming August 15 governorship election.

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On the deregistration of some political parties, the action of the Federal High Court is clearly an affront on the Court of Appeal, an abuse of court process and an open threat against the integrity of the electoral process.

The court had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five parties for failing to meet constitutional performance thresholds. Adeleke, who joined the Accord Party last year after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to internal disputes, labeled the judgment an abuse of court process and a threat to Nigeria's electoral system.

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Our lawyers have taken necessary steps to right the wrong. It is on record that the Court of Appeal had stayed proceedings on the matter till October. We are therefore surprised that the lower court proceeded to act on a matter already acted upon by the higher court.

Speaking at a press briefing in Osogbo, Adeleke highlighted that the Court of Appeal had already stayed proceedings on the matter until October. "The action of the Federal High Court is clearly an affront on the Court of Appeal, an abuse of court process and an open threat against the integrity of the electoral process," he stated. He assured his supporters that the Accord Party would remain in existence pending legal challenges and that he would contest the election on its platform.

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I call on Osun people to remain calm. The judgment cannot stay; Accord will be on the ballot; we will be on the ballot; and we will win resoundingly on August 15.

In a separate legal victory, Adeleke welcomed a Federal High Court ruling in Osogbo that dismissed an application seeking tenure extension for local government chairmen elected under the previous administration. He argued this reinforced previous decisions declaring such extensions unconstitutional, confirming the chairmen's tenure expired in October 2025 and they no longer hold legal authority.

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The dismissal of the elongation req