The Supreme Court of Nigeria will today, in Abuja, deliver a landmark judgment on the 23 political parties scrapped by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the year 2020.
The apex court will determine whether the electoral umpire followed due process of law before unleashing its axe on the parties and banned them from participating in elections.
Affected parties are Advanced Congress of Democrats, ACD, Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party, ANDP, All Blending Party ABP, All Grand Alliance Party, AGAP, Alliance of Social Democrats, ACD, Change Advocacy Party, CAP, Democratic Peoples Congress, DPC, Green Party of Nigeria, GPN.
Others are Masse Movement of Nigeria, MMN, Mega Party of Nigeria, MPN, New Generation Party of Nigeria, NGP, Nigeria For Democracy, NFD, Peoples Coalition Party PCP, Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, People For Democratic Change, PDC, and Young Democratic Party, YDP.
The rest are Re-build Nigeria Party, RBNP, Save Nigeria Congress, SNC, Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, United Democratic Party, UDP, United Patriots, UP, and We the People Nigeria, WTPN,
At the time of this report, the Supreme Court premises have been jam-packed by leaders of the 23 parties, as well as their followers and sympathisers.
The parties had lost their legal battle on the de-registration at the Federal High Court in a judgment delivered by Justice Taiwo Oladipupo Taiwo who held that the electoral body had power to axe them.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, however, upturned the High Court verdict on the ground that INEC did not follow due process of law.