Atiku and Adeleke left stranded after Abuja court orders Inec to de-register ADC and Accord Party

NIGERIA'S ongoing political drama in the run-up to next year's elections have taken another dramatic twist after an Abuja federal high court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to de-register two of the country's main political parties.

Next year, Nigeria goes to the polls to elect a new president  and most of the candidates who ran in 2023 are expected to stand again. President Bola Tinubu has been adopted as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while former vice p[resident Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has been nominated to fly the flag of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), picking ex-aviation minister Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate.

Two other presidential 2023 candidates, the former governors of Anambra and Kano states Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, are seen as a formidable team after they teamed up to take over the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). It is believed that Governor Obi would stand as its presidential candidate, with Senator Kwankwaso picked as his running mate, in what would be a very formidable partnership.

However, in a development that appears to have upset the apple cart, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Inec to immediately deregister the ADC and Accord Party. Citing  constitutional breaches for the decision, this means that the two parties will not be allowed to participate in the 2027 general elections.

Justice Lifu issued the order today while delivering judgment in a suit filed by a group of former lawmakers. With this judgment, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has no platform on which to contest the forthcoming presidential elections.

Similarly, Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is billed to seek re-election in the August 15 gubernatorial elections on the platform of the Accord Party, has been kicked out of the race. This suit was instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators against Inec and several parties including ADC, the Accord Party, Action Alliance, APP and the Zenith Labour Party.