The 2027 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr. Adewole Adebayo, has faulted the proposed deregistration of some political parties, describing the move as a threat to democratic participation and political inclusiveness in the country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Adebayo argued that neither the Constitution nor any existing law provides justification for limiting the operations of political parties through administrative directives or court actions.
He noted that the development was particularly disturbing as it came shortly after the nation celebrated Democracy Day, a period marked by renewed pledges to uphold democratic principles and broaden political inclusion.
Adebayo stressed that although the SDP was not among the parties listed for deregistration, it remained necessary to defend democratic rights and speak against actions capable of narrowing the political space.
He called on Nigerians and relevant stakeholders to stand with the affected parties and support their efforts to challenge the decision through lawful means.
According to him, Nigeria’s diverse social, cultural, religious, economic and ideological landscape requires multiple political platforms that enable citizens to freely express and pursue their political interests.
The SDP stalwart also canvassed constitutional amendments to strip the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the authority to register or deregister political parties, insisting that the electoral body should concentrate on conducting free, fair and credible elections.
As an alternative, he proposed a framework that would permit political associations to sponsor candidates for elections, subject to statutory deposits that could be forfeited where such groups fail to attain a stipulated minimum percentage of votes.
Adebayo further urged political actors to strengthen democratic institutions and avoid measures capable of heightening political tensions across the country.
He stated that he was willing to support the affected parties in pursuing constitutional and legal remedies to challenge the decision.
Reaffirming his position, Adebayo maintained that every duly qualified political party should be given the opportunity to participate fully in Nigeria’s democratic process.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja recently directed INEC to deregister five political parties in a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu following a suit instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators.
The parties affected by the ruling are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The forum had urged the court to determine whether INEC was constitutionally bound to deregister political parties that failed to satisfy the electoral performance benchmarks outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
According to the forum, the constitutional provision is further reinforced by relevant sections of the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulatory guidelines.
