Fresh Legal Twist As Appeal Court Is Urged To Void Order Directing INEC To Register ADA

The legal dispute surrounding the proposed registration of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) has taken a fresh turn, as the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has been asked to overturn a Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the association as a political party ahead of the 2027 general elections.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The appeal was filed on Tuesday by Dr. Umar Ardo, who described himself as an aggrieved member of the association. Ardo maintained that he had previously obtained the required access code from INEC before his own application to register the ADA was rejected.

In his notice of appeal, which contains six grounds, Ardo challenged the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, arguing that the judge erred by ordering INEC to issue an access code to another faction of the association led by Chief Akin Ricketts.

According to Ardo, Ricketts had already been removed from his position as the association’s Pro Tem National Chairman and was no longer recognised as a member of the group.

Chief Akin Ricketts and Dr. Aminu Ahmed were listed as the first and second respondents in the appeal, while INEC was joined as the third respondent.

Ardo also argued that the lower court wrongly concluded that the suit was not barred by the limitation provisions contained in Section 76 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

He contended that the action was filed more than 14 days after the cause of action arose, contrary to the time limit prescribed under the Electoral Act.

The appellant further informed the Court of Appeal that another case involving the same parties and seeking similar relief was already pending before the courts.

According to him, the fresh suit amounted to an abuse of court process because it sought the same objective—the registration of the All Democratic Alliance as a political party—despite an earlier case already being on appeal.

Ardo argued that allowing multiple suits on the same subject matter could result in conflicting judgments and amount to a waste of judicial resources.

He also accused the respondents of attempting to circumvent the pending appeal by instituting a fresh action instead of waiting for the appellate court to determine the earlier case.

In addition, Ardo faulted the trial court for allegedly failing to consider evidence that Ricketts had been removed from the association’s leadership and no longer possessed the legal standing to institute the action on behalf of the ADA.

He maintained that a person who is no longer a member or recognised leader of an association cannot validly represent it in court.

The appellant also challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to intervene in what he described as the internal affairs of the association, particularly matters relating to its leadership structure.

According to him, the trial court effectively invalidated decisions taken by the association regarding its leadership when it ordered INEC to issue a fresh access code to the respondents and reopen its portal for a new registration application.

He further argued that the lower court failed to properly evaluate documentary evidence, including minutes of meetings that allegedly reflected the association’s decision to change its leadership.

In addition to seeking to set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ardo asked the Court of Appeal to award costs against the respondents.

Background

In October 2025, INEC announced that the All Democratic Alliance was among 14 associations that successfully completed the initial stage of the political party registration process by submitting the required documents through the commission’s portal.

Although the commission subsequently cleared ADA and seven other associations to proceed to the next phase, a disagreement later emerged within the group over the individual authorised to handle the registration process.

Members aligned with Ricketts approached the Federal High Court, alleging that INEC had wrongly issued the registration access code to Ardo, whom they claimed was neither the association’s Pro Tem National Chairman nor its secretary.

They asked the court to compel INEC to issue the access code to them and declare the information previously uploaded by Ardo on behalf of the association invalid.

Delivering judgment, Justice Peter Lifu ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, holding that INEC acted unlawfully by issuing the access code to Ardo.

The court consequently directed the electoral commission to reopen its registration portal for one week to enable the plaintiffs to upload the required documents, including the association’s membership register.

Justice Lifu also nullified all steps previously taken by Ardo in relation to the registration process and ordered INEC to issue the access code to the plaintiffs within 72 hours.