NDC: Party deregistration endangering Nigeria’s multi-party democracy – IPAC

The Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, has expressed concern over recurring court judgments ordering political parties’ deregistration, warning that it threatens Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.

The National Publicity Secretary of the council, Mr Martins Egbeola, spoke on Wednesday in Abuja, stating that the developments constituted a disturbing trend.

Egbeola said the judicial pronouncements, if unchecked, could weaken the country’s multi-party political system and undermine citizens’ constitutional rights to political participation and association.

He noted that the earlier judgments directing five political parties’ deregistration, alongside the recent ruling against the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, raised serious concerns about the direction of Nigeria’s democracy.

According to the IPAC spokesman, regardless of legal arguments, the cumulative effect of such judgments can undermine political pluralism, shrink democratic space, and weaken constitutional guarantees protecting citizens’ political freedoms.

He said that the developments suggested a dangerous pattern aimed at eroding Nigeria’s multi-party democracy through judicial means, cautioning against manipulation of state institutions for political interests.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the possibility that anti-democratic forces are working behind the scenes to manipulate state institutions for narrow political interests,” Egbeola said.

Egbeola therefore urged the National Judicial Council, NJC, to ensure that judges uphold judicial independence, impartiality and constitutional fidelity, preserve public confidence and ensure democratic governance in the judiciary.

“The judiciary remains the last hope of the common man and must never be perceived as a tool in the hands of politicians,” he added.