The Federal High Court in Abuja disqualified five political parties for failing to meet a constitutional requirement of scoring twenty-five percent in the last general elections. They are also barred from contesting the 2027 general elections. The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, and the Zenith Labour Party.
A beauty of the Nigerian democracy is the separation of powers among the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
However, the judiciary has turned itself into a tyrant in the peculiar Nigerian democracy. It routinely interferes in the internal affairs of political parties, making planning by the stakeholders a herculean task.
Now that the court has disqualified these parties, what happens to Atiku, for instance, who emerged as the ADC Presidential Candidate and even just picked former Transport Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate? What happens to Osun State Governor, Jackson Ademola Adeleke, who is the gubernatorial flagbearer of the Accord Party in this year’s off-cycle Osun elections?
This will create a lot of confusion in the minds of the voters and party stakeholders as well. What then happens if the parties appeal? Will they meet the timeline for the elections?
There should be a constitutional review in the near future that bars the courts from interfering in the internal affairs of political parties so as to guarantee stability in the system to avert needless chaos and anarchy.
It remains interesting to see whether Atiku, Adeleke, and all the other affected politicians would be allowed to contest the next elections or whether a superior court will overturn the decision of the Federal High Court.
Time will tell!
