INEC HARBORING DEREGISTERED APP PARTY WOULD TRIGGER NATIONAL CRISIS — NGOFORO-LED GROUP RAISES ALARM

By Fred Adekunle, Abuja

The Civic Action for Democracy (CAD) on Thursday raised alarm over what it described as a grand conspiracy to derail the 2027 general elections through the illegal retention of the Action Peoples Party (APP) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), warning that the situation poses an existential threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

Speaking at a world press conference in Abuja, the group’s Executive Director, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, presented meticulously documented evidence of institutional corruption and electoral manipulation involving INEC officials and corrupt politicians.

According to CAD, the APP was among 74 political parties lawfully deregistered by INEC on February 6, 2020, for failing to meet constitutional requirements under Section 225 of the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act after the 2019 general elections. The group noted that the Supreme Court in March 2022 upheld INEC’s powers to deregister political parties, affirming the validity of the 2020 exercise.

However, Ngoforo stated that INEC fraudulently claimed APP had obtained an interim court order restraining its deregistration, a claim the group insists is completely false as no suit number, court documents, or evidence of such an order has ever been produced despite repeated requests over five years.

The organization argued that even if such a court order existed, which it maintains it does not, no interim order in Nigerian jurisprudence could remain in force for nearly six years without renewal or extension, calling INEC’s claim “a legal impossibility that insults the intelligence of every lawyer and informed citizen.”

CAD presented evidence including a July 29, 2020 letter from Barr. Mrs. Eunice Atuejide, former National Chairman of the National Interest Party, requesting details of the purported court order, which INEC has never answered. The group also referenced a pending Federal High Court suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1464/2024) filed by legal luminary Barr. Ukpai Ukairo challenging INEC’s continued recognition of the deregistered party.

CAD alleged that corrupt political actors, including a serving federal lawmaker from Imo State and INEC contractors, have maintained APP in the electoral commission’s database for nefarious purposes.

The group claimed these conspirators orchestrated a fraudulent arrangement in October 2024 where APP was ceded a councillorship seat in Buntusu Ward, Gwiwa Local Government Area of Jigawa State, to create a false impression of meeting constitutional requirements.

Intelligence gathered by the organization suggests a two-pronged strategy to destabilize democracy: either using proxy plaintiffs to seek judicial invalidation of elections involving APP shortly after the 2027 presidential results are announced, or orchestrating a widespread boycott that could delegitimize the entire electoral process.

Drawing parallels to electoral crises in Kenya (2017) and Côte d’Ivoire (2010-2011) that resulted in violence, economic collapse, and civil war, CAD warned that Nigeria’s fragile democratic ecosystem cannot absorb such shocks. Ngoforo emphasized that the matter has transcended electoral administration to become a national security threat, noting that conspirators have established channels to amplify any planned crisis through international media and diplomatic networks. He called on the Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services, Nigerian Police Force, and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately investigate the financial transactions sustaining the conspiracy.

The group made five specific demands to INEC: immediately announce that APP was lawfully deregistered and has no legal existence; remove APP from the database of registered political parties; publicly release all documentation related to the claimed court order or admit none exists; identify all officials who facilitated the fraudulent exemption; and collaborate with law enforcement to prosecute those involved.

CAD specifically appealed to INEC’s current Chairman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, noting that while he inherited the problem, he now has the responsibility and constitutional authority to correct it before it destroys Nigeria’s democracy.

The organization called on civil society groups, professional bodies, the National Assembly, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and international observers to join the campaign to address what it described as a clear and present danger to Nigeria’s national security.

Ngoforo warned that failure to act immediately could result in the collapse of Nigeria’s economy, deterioration of security, destruction of international standing, and potential classification as a failed state. “The 2027 elections represent more than a political contest; they are a test of whether our institutions can maintain integrity under pressure,” he declared, urging all Nigerians to recognize the issue as a matter of partisan politics rather than partisan politics.