The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from the list of parties eligible to contest in the 2027 general elections.
The APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, made this known during an interview on Arise Television on Friday.
He argued that the continued existence of parties that fail to meet electoral standards only complicates the voting process and weakens the system.
According to him, Nigeria’s ballot papers should not be overcrowded with parties that lack structure, visibility, or electoral relevance.
He stressed that the call is not political intimidation but a push for compliance with existing laws guiding party registration and participation.
“We’re calling on INEC to deregister the ADC. We don’t want the ballot papers to be clustered with unviable political parties.
“First and foremost, the All Progressives Congress is a party registered under Nigerian law, and we are bound to call attention of all institutions to comply with the law. The APC is not the one that wrote the Nigerian constitution. Nigerian constitution is very clear.
“When you have failed to get certain thresholds of electoral sensibility, such political party should be deregistered and as a political party in a contest, we don’t want our ballot papers to be clustered with irrelevant and unviable political party.
“That was the basis of our calling the attention of INEC to deregister the ADC. And I’m comforted by the fact that there are even cases in court. Personally to say that such party should be deregistered. INEC should exercise its power.
“It has been shown that more of noise than action by this so called ‘I’m political party’, particularly the so-called coalition of confusion,” Basiru said.
Basiru added that the APC is not worried about claims suggesting Nigeria is drifting toward a one-party state. He maintained that the country still has about 19 registered political parties, even though many of them, in his view, have failed to demonstrate real electoral strength or grassroots impact.
He also pointed out that the Nigerian constitution clearly outlines conditions under which political parties can be deregistered, especially when they consistently perform below required benchmarks in elections. He insisted that INEC has both the authority and responsibility to act where necessary.
The APC chieftain further hinted that there are ongoing legal efforts seeking the deregistration of parties that have not met constitutional requirements. This, he said, should encourage INEC to take decisive steps ahead of 2027.