A Federal High Court in Abuja ordered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) with the access code needed to continue registration as a political party.
In the judgment handed down on Monday, Judge Peter Lifu ordered the electoral commission to hand over the code to the leadership of the Akin Ricketts-led association within 72 hours.thus ending the dispute over who should represent the group in the registration process.
The court blames the actions of INEC
The judge ruled that INEC acted improperly in issuing the access code to Umar Ard, stating that he is neither the recognized National President of Protema nor the Secretary of the Protema Association.
Judge Lifu declared the commission’s action illegal and invalidated every step Ardo took on behalf of the ADA in the registration process.
The court also directed INEC to reopen its registration portal for a week to enable the recognized leadership of the association to upload all necessary documents including the register of members.
How the dispute began
The legal action was initiated by the association through its lawyer, Stephen Atabo, who claimed that INEC breached existing regulations by granting access to the portal to Ardo instead of recognized officials of the group.
The plaintiff argued that the documents provided by Ardo did not reflect the information contained in the association’s original letter of intent and therefore should have no legal effect.
The suit also sought an order compelling INEC to issue a new access code to the recognized leadership and proceed with the registration of ADA as a political party, including the issuance of a certificate of registration.
In addition, the association requested an extension of the previously set deadlines for the delivery of its digital membership register and candidate data.
After considering the submissions of all parties, the court concluded that Ardo did not have the authority to act on behalf of the association and annulled all actions taken under his direction in connection with the bid for ADA registration.
