Adebayo Faults ADC, Accord Deregistration, Offers Legal Support to Affected Parties

By Margaret Abah

The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has condemned the planned deregistration of some political parties, describing the move as unconstitutional, undemocratic and harmful to Nigeria's democratic growth.

Adebayo, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, said there was no constitutional, legal or moral justification for suppressing alternative political platforms through judicial action allegedly backed by the government.

His reaction followed a recent court judgment ordering the deregistration of some political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Accord Party, a development that has generated criticism from opposition figures and political stakeholders.

According to him, the timing of the judgment was disturbing, coming only days after the country marked Democracy Day with celebrations and renewed commitments to democratic governance.

“Deregistration of political parties is a bad omen for our democracy. There is no constitutional, legal or moral basis for these alternative democratic platforms to be truncated and thwarted by the government with the aid of a judicial decree,” he said.

Adebayo noted that although the SDP was not among the parties affected by the ruling, it would be wrong to remain silent in the face of what he described as injustice.

He urged Nigerians and defenders of democracy to stand in solidarity with the affected parties.

“The fact that my political party, the SDP, is not affected by this unfortunate situation does not excuse my silence in the face of injustice.

“All lovers of democracy must stand strongly and solidly in solidarity with the African Democratic Congress, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party,” he stated.

The SDP chieftain also pledged legal and political support to the affected parties in their efforts to challenge the court order and seek redress through lawful means.

“I therefore offer myself to all those affected political parties to pursue justice and restoration through all legitimate means,” he said.

Adebayo further called for constitutional reforms to remove the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register and deregister political parties.

He proposed a system that would allow political associations to freely nominate candidates for elections after paying statutory deposits, which would be forfeited if they failed to secure at least 10 per cent of votes cast.

According to him, INEC should focus solely on conducting free, fair and credible elections.

“We do not need more constraints and overheating the political temperature in Nigeria when we should be focusing squarely on building the nation,” he added.