The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbem has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to order Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove five political parties from its register.
According to Nigerian Tribune, the AGF said the party’s continued recognition goes against the law and could harm the country’s electoral system.
In court documents, Fagbem argued that INEC is failing in its constitutional duty by keeping parties that do not meet the required standards.
He warned that without the court’s intervention, the commission would “continue to act in breach of its constitutional duty.”
The parties listed in the suit include the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Accord (A), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP}.
The case was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators. Both INEC and the attorney general are named as defendants.
According to the filings, “the right to associate as a political party is not absolute and must be exercised within constitutional limits,” adding that “it is in the interest of justice for the court to grant the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.”
The plaintiffs said the INEC is required by law to deregister political parties that fail to meet certain performance targets set out in the constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
The plaintiffs argued that the affected parties did not meet these conditions, such as securing at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning seats at the federal, state, or local government levels.
They said the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and later by-elections but are still listed by INEC, which they believe is unlawful and harmful to Nigeria’s democratic process.
In a sworn statement, the group’s national coordinator, Igbokwe Raphael Nnanna, said allowing such parties to remain registered breaks the law and goes against the rules guiding political participation.
Meanwhile, some opposition parties have accused the President Bola Tinubu’s administration of trying to weaken them by encouraging internal divisions, although the government has denied those claims.
KanyiDaily also reported that former vice president Atiku Abubakar has faulted President Bola Tinubu over his comments that the Nigeria’s worsening security situation would not stop his plans to remain in power.
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