BY AHMED AKANBI
The Accord Party has hailed the Court of Appeal judgment that nullified a Federal High Court ruling ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the party and four others.
In a statement by its National Chairman, Barrister Maxwell Mgbudem, the party said the appellate court’s decision has restored confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process, adding that it also reaffirmed the judiciary’s role as the last hope of aggrieved citizens.
Mgbudem described the judgment as a major boost for representative democracy, stressing that it proves attempts to undermine democratic participation will not succeed.
”The appellate court verdict is a victory for democracy, rule of law and due process. It has restored sanity in the ongoing electoral process and justified the confidence Nigerians reposed in the Judiciary as the temple of justice,” he said.
According to the Accord chairman, the Court of Appeal ruling is “sweet music in the ears of all lovers of representative governance in Nigeria.”
He added that the judgment sends a strong signal that anti-democratic forces will be defeated when citizens defend their constitutional rights.
Mgbudem alleged the suit was aimed at distracting and stopping Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, from contesting the August 15 gubernatorial election.
”The way this grand judicial plot failed, is the way the opposition in Osun State will also fail, as the party will again emerge victorious in the polls,” he declared.
The party maintained that it met all constitutional requirements for registration and had presented evidence of election victories in court.
Mgbudem dismissed the suit as “frivolous, spurious and defective,” filed by “so-called former legislators, a group of interlopers that lack the locus standi to institute it.”
He further recalled that the Court of Appeal had granted a stay of proceedings on May 22, 2026, and a stay of execution on June 16, 2026, pending the determination of the appeal.