Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has criticised the Federal High Court’s decision to deregister the Accord Party and four other political parties, describing the judgment as a violation of an existing order issued by the Court of Appeal.
In a statement released on Monday through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor argued that the appellate court had already directed a stay of proceedings in the matter before the lower court delivered its ruling.
Adeleke questioned the decision of the Federal High Court to proceed with judgment despite the Court of Appeal’s intervention, insisting that the appellate court had clearly indicated that the case should not advance until further consideration.
According to the governor, documents presented before Justice Peter Lifu showed that the Court of Appeal had ruled that the delivery of judgment remained part of the court proceedings and was therefore covered by the stay order.
He urged residents of Osun State to remain calm, noting that the appeal is scheduled to be heard soon and expressing confidence that the Accord Party would ultimately retain its legal status and participate in the forthcoming governorship election.
Adeleke maintained that attempts to prevent citizens from exercising their democratic rights would not succeed, adding that the rule of law would prevail.
The governor further assured supporters that the party’s governorship campaign activities would continue as planned, dismissing concerns that the court ruling could disrupt preparations for the election.
He stated that the campaign flag-off would proceed as scheduled and reiterated his confidence in the party’s electoral prospects.
Adeleke also revealed that the party’s legal team had already begun taking steps to challenge the judgment and seek redress through the courts.
The controversy followed a ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Justice Peter Lifu ordered the deregistration of five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (A), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The court directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the parties from the register, citing their failure to meet constitutional requirements, including securing the minimum electoral threshold required by law during the last general elections.
