Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, Raphael Igbokwe, has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is under pressure to deregister certain political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Labour Party (LP).
Igbokwe made the claim while speaking to journalists after the Federal High Court fixed March 24 to rule on a joinder application in a suit seeking to compel INEC to deregister the ADC, Accord Party, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance (AA) over alleged non-compliance with constitutional provisions.
According to him, the suit was filed to seek judicial clarification and interpretation of constitutional sections relating to the regulation of political parties.
“We felt that INEC should be up and doing. We operate a constitutional democracy in which every entity, body, authority, is expected to carry out its operations according to the provisions of the Constitution,” he said.
He expressed concern that INEC might be selective in applying the law, noting that the commission deregistered several political parties in 2021 but has not taken similar action recently.
“If they could apply the law five years ago in 2021 and they deregistered 74 political parties, why are they not applying the law now?” he queried.
Igbokwe added that the matter is now before the court and that the ruling would help enrich Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence.
