Civic Group Alleges Plot to Destabilise 2027 Elections, Accuses INEC of Retaining Deregistered Party.
By Anselem Anokwute
The Civil Society Organization under the aegis of Civic Action for Democracy (CAD) has raised alarm over what it calls a “grand electoral conspiracy” allegedly involving senior politicians, compromised officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the continued recognition of the deregistered Action Peoples Party (APP).
At a press conference in Owerri Imo State, CAD Executive Director, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, claimed that INEC’s failure to fully enforce the deregistration of APP—despite a 2020 decision by the Commission and a 2022 Supreme Court judgment affirming that decision—poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s constitutional order ahead of the 2027 general elections.
CAD insists that APP was legally removed from the national party register alongside 73 others after failing to meet constitutional and Electoral Act requirements.
The group says INEC justified APP’s retention by citing a purported court order restraining its deregistration. According to CAD, no such order, suit number, or supporting documents have been produced in the five years since, and no evidence exists in any court registry.
The organisation alleges that a network of politicians, including a serving federal lawmaker, has colluded with former and current INEC officials to keep the deregistered party active.
CAD further claims that APP’s participation in local Government Area elections in Rivers and Jigawa states forms part of an attempt to fabricate legitimacy ahead of 2027.
According to CAD, intelligence suggests two possible crisis scenarios: lawsuits filed after the presidential polls to invalidate the elections on the grounds that APP was illegally retained, or a coordinated political boycott that could delegitimise the polls and spark nationwide unrest and truncate the democracy.
The group warned that unresolved irregularities of this nature have triggered constitutional crises in other African countries, citing Kenya’s 2017 election annulment and Côte d’Ivoire’s 2010–2011 post-election conflict. Nigeria, CAD argues, is too fragile politically and economically to withstand such upheaval.
The group unequivocally demanded the immediate removal of APP from INEC’s party register to follow 2020 deregistered parties or make
public disclosure of any court order INEC claims to possess—or an admission that none exist, investigation and prosecution of officials involved in APP’s continued recognition; and
classification of the matter as a national security threat by relevant security agencies.
The organisation also urged the National Assembly, civil society groups, professional bodies, and international partners to take interest in what it described as a looming democratic crisis.
CAD called on the INEC Chairman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to address the issue urgently, stressing that the Commission’s credibility—and Nigeria’s democratic stability depend on swift corrective action.
All attempt made to get the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC National Director Voter Education and Publicity, Ms Victoria Eta-Messi proved abortive as the contact was unavoidable absent during the time of filling the report.
