APPEAL COURT SUSPENDS DEREGISTRATION OF ADC, FOUR OTHERS

APPEAL COURT SUSPENDS DEREGISTRATION OF ADC, FOUR OTHERS

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has ordered a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties.

The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Zenith Labour Party and Accord.

The appellate court faulted the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who had ordered the deregistration of the parties on the grounds that they failed to meet the constitutional threshold required for political parties.

The Court of Appeal held that the trial court proceeded with the matter despite the pendency of an appeal and an existing order before the appellate court, describing the action as improper.

Justice Lifu had ruled that the affected parties failed to satisfy the requirements of Section 225 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister political parties that do not meet stipulated constitutional conditions.

With the stay of execution, the status quo remains pending the determination of the substantive appeal.

Source NTA