The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has firmly rejected the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja ordering its deregistration, describing it as an attempt to use the judiciary to undermine opposition parties.
In a statement on Monday, Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, criticised the judgement delivered on Monday by Peter Lifu, judge of the federal high court in Abuja, in a suit seeking the deregistration of the party and four others.
On Monday, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered INEC to deregister the ADC, Accord Party, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, and Zenith Labour Party over their alleged failure to meet constitutional performance requirements under the Electoral Act of 2022 and Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
‘ATTEMPT TO WEAKEN OPPOSITION AHEAD OF 2027’
Reacting to the development, Abdullahi further described the ruling as a threat to democratic governance, noting that the opposition party would challenge it through legal channels.
“This judgment stands in direct conflict with constitutional principles and all known judicial processes and procedures.”
According to Abdullahi, INEC had told the court that the deregistration of ADC had no constitutional justification.
He further argued that the electoral commission acknowledged that the ADC had neither failed to meet any legally recognised electoral performance benchmark nor violated any of the conditions attached to its registration.
“Whatever it takes, the ADC will be on the ballot so long as the 2027 election is to hold,” Abdullahi said.
