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The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that it was unconstitutional to retain political parties that have failed to win electoral seats.
Fagbemi’s submission is contained in an affidavit in reply to a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) seeking the deregistration of four political parties, including the Action Alliance (AA), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Zenith Labour Party, and the Action Peoples Party (APP).
While calling for compliance with the provision of Section 225A of the Nigerian Constitution, he said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no residual discretion to retain the registration of political parties that have clearly failed to satisfy the minimum threshold prescribed under section 225A of the constitution.
He added that the continued existence of nonperforming political parties will inflates the ballots, burdens public funds, complicate election administration and undermines the constitutional intention.
He said that by the provisions of Section 225A of the 4th Amendment to the Nigerian Constitution, the rule was made to address ballot paper clogging, which had complicated the voting process.
Fagbemi said he was the chief law officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the responsibility to bring, defend or support any action for the observance of the provisions of the constitution.
Earlier, counsel to NFFL, Yakubu Ruba (SAN), had submitted that the action seeks a judicial interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions governing the registration and continued recognition of political parties in Nigeria.
“We are before the court purely for constitutional interpretation. Some parties, in our view, have acted in breach of the constitution, and we seek the court’s guidance on the relevant provisions,” he said.
According to the originating summons brought under Section 225(A) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 75(4) of the Electoral Act, 2022, and relevant provisions of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019 and deposed to by Hon Nnanna Igbokwe, INEC failed its duty by allowing the parties’ continued existence.
In the affidavit, Nnanna, who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and National Coordinator of the NFFL, alleged that the political parties failed to meet minimum performance thresholds by not winning a single elective seat at any level of government, including presidential, governorship, National Assembly, state assembly, chairmanship or councillorship elections.
The plaintiff further claimed that the parties did not secure the constitutionally required 25 per cent of votes in at least one state in presidential elections, nor any representation across the country’s 8,809 wards, 774 local government areas, 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The forum warned that unless restrained by the court, INEC may permit the affected parties to participate in the 2027 general elections, thereby “clogging the ballot papers, overstretching administrative resources and misleading voters.”
