The African Democratic Congress has firmly rejected a Federal High Court order that directed it and four other political parties to be deregistered, describing the judgment as unacceptable and pledging to challenge it in court. Among the other affected parties is the Zenith Labour Party, and the development has raised immediate questions about the political landscape heading into the 2027 elections.
At the centre of the party's anger is what it calls a glaring procedural irregularity. According to the ADC, the Court of Appeal had ordered that proceedings in the matter be stayed until October 27, yet the lower court went ahead and delivered judgment on the very same matter. The party describes this as judicial rascality and argues that ruling on a case the Court of Appeal had asked to be put on hold amounts to contempt of court.
The ADC went further, alleging that the decision was politically motivated. Its spokesman claimed the judgment followed a script written by agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the government of President Bola Tinubu, with the aim of clearing the field so that, by 2027, the president would be left as the only viable contender after rivals had been eliminated.
On the legal substance, the party insists that only the Independent National Electoral Commission has the power to register or deregister political parties. It also pointed out that INEC itself had filed an affidavit before the same Federal High Court stating that the ADC had met all the constitutional and electoral requirements for registration, which the party says undercuts the basis for the ruling.
The ADC also disputed the court's reading of the deregistration rules. Citing Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, it argued that the grounds, such as failing to win at least 25 percent of votes in a state in a presidential election, or a single seat in a legislative or council contest, are disjunctive, meaning a party only needs to satisfy one of them. The ADC says it has at least two members in the House of Representatives and holds a certificate of returns, which in its view means the electoral threshold was met.
Vowing to head back to court to challenge the ruling, the party maintained that the judgment will not stand and that it will still be on the ballot in 2027. Its representative warned that those behind the move were playing with fire and risked generating a crisis, while insisting that more people have continued to join the party despite the legal battles surrounding it.