2027 Election Threat: CAD Accuses INEC of Illegal Party Recognition, Warns of Looming Constitutional Crisis

2027 Election Threat: CAD Accuses INEC of Illegal Party Recognition, Warns of Looming Constitutional Crisis

The Civic Action for Democracy (CAD) has raised an urgent global alarm over what it describes as a deliberate and well-coordinated plot to compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

Addressing journalists at a world press conference on Friday in Owerri, the organisation alleged that corrupt networks within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are colluding with the deregistered Action Peoples Party (APP) to trigger electoral chaos and plunge Nigeria into constitutional turmoil.

CAD stated that at the core of the unfolding conspiracy is the continued listing of APP one of the 74 political parties legally deregistered by INEC on February 6, 2020. The deregistration, the group emphasised, was affirmed by a unanimous Supreme Court judgment in March 2022, which sealed the party’s fate and upheld INEC’s powers under Sections 225 and 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Section 94 of the Electoral Act 2022.

“These constitutional provisions are explicit and mandatory,” CAD asserted. “They leave no space for selective enforcement or administrative discretion. APP ceased to exist as a political party in Nigeria the moment the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment.”

according to CAD, INEC continues to recognize APP based on a “nonexistent and fabricated court order.”

The organisation revealed that:

No suit number exists,

No originating summons was filed,

No motion was submitted, and

No court ever issued a restraining order in favour of APP.

CAD described the claim as “a brazen forgery” orchestrated by what it labelled “a criminal syndicate within INEC determined to manipulate the election architecture from within.”

The group noted that repeated inquiries by legal practitioners including petitions filed in 2020 and 2024 were ignored by INEC because “the documents do not exist and were never filed in any Nigerian court.”

The group further alleged that in October 2024, APP clandestinely secured a councillorship seat in Jigawa State not through electoral contest but through a covert arrangement to create an illusion of compliance with constitutional thresholds.

“This desperate attempt does not confer legitimacy,” CAD stated. “You cannot revive a party that the Constitution and the Supreme Court have already pronounced dead.”

CAD warned that intelligence at its disposal points to a dual track conspiracy designed to weaponize APP’s illegal recognition in 2027:

1. Judicial Sabotage:

APP would field candidates, lose at the polls, and then activate proxy litigants to obtain a judgment that INEC illegally retained the party—setting the stage for a judicial challenge capable of nullifying the entire election.

2. Delegitimization and Boycott Campaign:

The group alleges that APP and its external collaborators are preparing to launch a globally amplified media campaign portraying Nigeria’s elections as compromised, thereby encouraging a boycott and undermining Nigeria’s democratic stability.

“Either scenario,” CAD warned, “leads Nigeria into electoral paralysis, constitutional confusion, and potential national unrest.”

Citing Kenya’s 2017 election annulment and Côte d’Ivoire’s 2010 post-election conflict, CAD stressed that electoral compromises have historically triggered devastating political instability in Africa.

“Nigeria is already strained. Any shock to its electoral system could push the nation toward unmanageable crisis,” the statement read.

CAD declared that the continued listing of APP on INEC’s register is no longer a mere administrative infraction but “a national security vulnerability that could be exploited by rogue actors to destabilize Nigeria.”

The organisation called on:

The National Security Adviser,

Department of State Services (DSS),

Nigeria Police Force,

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),

Attorney-General of the Federation, and

National Assembly

to commence urgent investigations and bring all involved actors to justice.

While acknowledging that the current INEC Chairman inherited the crisis, CAD insisted that the Commission must now act with transparency and resolve. The group issued five key demands:

1. A public declaration reaffirming APP’s lawful deregistration.

2. Immediate removal of APP from INEC’s database.

3. Publication of all documents related to the alleged court order—if any exist.

4. Identification and prosecution of officials implicated in the fraud.

5. Full cooperation with security and anti-corruption agencies.

CAD warned that failure to address the issue could erode investor confidence, inflame insecurity, provoke nationwide protests, and severely damage Nigeria’s international reputation.

“Nigeria’s democracy has been hard-won and painfully sustained,” the statement concluded. “We cannot permit a cartel of corrupt actors to sabotage our collective future.”

Signed:

Mazi Franklin Ngoforo

Executive Director,

Civic Action for Democracy (CAD)