Court orders INEC to deregister ADC, Accord and three other parties

The Federal High Court in Abuja just dropped a bombshell. Justice Peter Lifu has ordered INEC to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for failing to meet the constitutional threshold under Section 225 of the constitution. This is not a small matter.

The suit was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators against INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, who surprisingly threw his weight behind the plaintiffs. The core argument is that these parties won no elective positions at federal, state, or local government levels in the last elections, which the constitution says is grounds for deregistration. If this judgement is enforced immediately, it automatically disqualifies candidates like Atiku Abubakar who just emerged as ADC's presidential candidate, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke who is seeking a second term on the Accord platform.

We are barely seven to eight months away from the 2027 general elections, and off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun are coming up in June and August. This ruling could reshape the entire political landscape overnight. My question is simple: will INEC have the courage to enforce this judgement, or will we see the usual appeals and injunctions that keep dead parties alive indefinitely?