Attorney General Joins Suit to Deregister Five Political Parties

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, has joined a legal action to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties. The suit, filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators at the Federal High Court in Abuja, targets the African Democratic Congress, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, Accord, and Zenith Labour Party.

Plaintiffs argue that these parties violated Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution by failing to meet minimum benchmarks during the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections. Specifically, the parties failed to secure a single elective seat or win at least 25 percent of the votes in any state. The legal action seeks a judicial interpretation to bar these organizations from participating in the 2027 general elections.

Prince Lateef Fagbemi asserted that INEC has no residual discretion to retain the registration of parties that fail to satisfy these constitutional requirements. He argued that the continued existence of non-performing parties burdens public funds, complicates election administration, and clogs ballot papers, thereby undermining electoral integrity.