Unregistered Parties: Reverse Your Decision- IPAC

The Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria has on Friday asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reverse its Thursday’s decision to deregister 74 political parties.

The body said the decision was taken without observing due process and provisions of the law.

IPAC National Legal Adviser, Chukwudi Ezeobika, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen.

He said IPAC was aware of an action instituted at the Federal High Court by 33 political parties, who are members of the council in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/444/2019, seeking amongst other things, an order restraining INEC from deregistering concerned political parties pending the determination of the suit.

Ezeobika also said that the court, upon hearing the motion for an interlocutory injunction on January 23, 2020, adjourned for ruling on February 17, 2020.

He said, “It is however reprehensible on the part of INEC to take such decision which is an affront on the judiciary, an abuse of the court process and a conscious disregard for the rule of law.

“By the action purportedly taken by INEC, the council is of a firm view that INEC as an institution no longer has regards or respect for the rule of law in Nigeria and has lost the confidence of political parties in the political affairs of the nation.

“The council hereby call on INEC to immediately reverse the purported decision in order not to infringe on the rights of political parties as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“By the provisions of Sections 221 – 229, no provision is inferior or superior to the other. Section 229 defines a political party to include an association whose activities shall include canvassing for votes in support of a candidate for election into a local government council.”

Ezeobika argued that INEC should have been responsible enough to have waited until elections are held in all the 774 LGAs and 8,809 electoral wards in the country, after the signing of the 4th Alteration to the Constitution on June 4, 2018, before assuming that a party has not won any elective position.