Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has denounced a Federal High Court ruling that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties. The court order, delivered by Justice Peter Lifu in Abuja on Monday, affects the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). Justice Lifu ruled that the parties failed to meet the requirements of Section 225 of the Constitution, which allows INEC to remove parties that have not won any federal, state, or local government elections. The judge determined that these parties no longer qualified for registration and ordered INEC to remove them from the list of recognised political organisations.
Sowore reacted to the judgment in a post on X, calling the move undemocratic and unjustifiable. He argued that the affected parties had already conducted their primaries and were preparing for upcoming general elections. "I totally condemn the deregistration of political parties that have already concluded their primaries and are preparing for general elections. Such an action is undemocratic and unjustifiable in a multi-party democracy, it shall not stand," he wrote. His statement framed the court's decision as a blow to democratic pluralism and the multi-party system in Nigeria.
The ruling hinges on constitutional provisions that tie party recognition to electoral performance. INEC had previously indicated that parties failing to secure at least one seat at any level of government in a general election could be subject to deregistration. The five affected parties did not win any positions in the most recent elections, according to the court's findings.
Sowore criticises the removal of parties that failed to win elections, yet his own AAC has not secured any significant electoral victory either. His objection raises questions about the consistency of his stance on constitutional compliance. If party recognition should survive electoral failure, the same standard must apply to all, including his own. Otherwise, the outcry appears less about democracy and more about political convenience.
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