By Monsurat Abisoye
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned until 7 July the hearing of an appeal challenging the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, and three other political parties.
The appellate court shifted the matter from 25 June to allow parties in the suit to file and exchange their briefs of argument before the substantive hearing.
During Thursday’s proceedings, counsel for the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), informed the three-member panel led by Justice Abubakar Mohammed that the record of appeal and the Federal High Court judgment were only obtained on Monday and had since been transmitted to the appellate court. He subsequently requested a short adjournment to enable all parties to exchange their processes.
The application was not opposed, prompting the court to adjourn the case until 2 pm on 7 July. Although Adetunbi requested three days for the filing of briefs, Justice Mohammed explained that some members of the panel would be away on official assignments next week, making 7 July the earliest available date.
The appeal arose from a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party. The judge held that the parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements necessary to retain their registration and participate in future elections.
INEC opposed the deregistration, arguing that the affected parties met the constitutional threshold and had won elective positions in previous elections. The commission tendered certificates of return issued to candidates elected on the platforms of the parties.
In a related ruling on 16 June, the Court of Appeal ordered a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment, preventing INEC from enforcing the deregistration pending the determination of the appeal. In a unanimous decision, the appellate court criticised Justice Lifu for delivering his judgment despite an earlier order directing him to suspend proceedings, describing the action as a violation of the hierarchy of courts.
The suit was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the parties failed to meet the electoral performance benchmarks stipulated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. The group maintained that the parties did not achieve the constitutionally required electoral performance in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections and should therefore be deregistered.
INEC, however, insisted that the parties remain qualified for registration, citing electoral victories secured by their candidates across the country.