The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed March 24 to rule on a joinder application in a suit seeking the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Action Alliance (AA) over alleged non-compliance with constitutional requirements.
The suit, filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), lists the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Attorney-General of the Federation and the affected parties as defendants. Initially targeting only the ADC, the plaintiffs later amended the originating summons to include the three other parties.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Justice Peter Lifu addressed a dispute over legal representation for Action Alliance, where two lawyers separately claimed authority to appear for the party. The judge directed them to resolve the issue, warning that the court would take necessary steps if they failed to do so.
Counsel to Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), also sought leave to file a further counter-affidavit, arguing that additional facts needed to be placed before the court. The application was opposed by plaintiff’s counsel, Yakubu Abdullahi Ruba (SAN), who maintained that no new issues had been introduced to warrant the filing.
Other defence counsel sought extensions of time to regularise their processes and filed motions challenging the court’s jurisdiction. Justice Lifu granted the applications for extension of time and adjourned the matter to March 24 for ruling on the joinder request and other pending motions.
Speaking after the hearing, Ruba said the suit seeks judicial interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions governing the registration and continued recognition of political parties.
The plaintiffs rely on Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 75(4) of the Electoral Act, 2022, which empower INEC to deregister parties that fail to meet minimum electoral performance thresholds.
In an affidavit, the NFFL accused INEC of failing to enforce these provisions by continuing to recognise parties that have allegedly not secured required vote percentages or won elective offices since registration. The group is asking the court to compel the commission to enforce constitutional benchmarks and to restrain the affected parties from participating in future elections until compliance is established.
