The political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections may have been significantly altered following a Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties over poor electoral performance.
The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered the judgment in Abuja, held that the parties no longer met the constitutional conditions required to remain on INEC’s register.
The case was brought before the court by a group of former lawmakers, who argued that INEC had a constitutional duty under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to remove political parties that failed to achieve prescribed electoral benchmarks.
According to the plaintiffs, the affected parties neither secured significant electoral victories nor attained the minimum voting thresholds required to justify their continued recognition as registered political parties.
They maintained that the parties performed poorly during the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections, making them liable for deregistration under existing constitutional provisions.
The claimants further argued that retaining parties that consistently fail to attract electoral support weakens the nation’s democratic framework and clutters the political space.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu agreed with the submissions of the plaintiffs and ordered INEC to strike the five parties from its official register.
The court also upheld arguments that political parties must demonstrate measurable electoral relevance to retain their legal status under Nigeria’s constitutional order.
The judgment comes at a time of heightened political realignments and could trigger fresh legal battles, particularly as preparations gradually begin for the next general election.
Neither INEC nor the affected political parties had issued official reactions to the ruling as of the time of filing this report.