Osun 2026: Adeleke reacts to ‘deregistration’ of Accord Party
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has faulted the Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of Accord and four other political parties, describing the decision as a violation of an existing Court of Appeal order.
On Monday, the Federal High Court in Abuja directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister Accord, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), citing their failure to meet electoral performance requirements in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections.
Adeleke, who is seeking re-election under the Accord platform ahead of the August 15 governorship election, is expected to officially launch his campaign on Tuesday.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor described the ruling as an abuse of court process, arguing that the Court of Appeal had already ordered a stay of proceedings in the matter.
He expressed surprise that the lower court proceeded to deliver judgment despite the appellate court’s intervention.
“It is on record before Honourable Justice Peter Lifu J that in the record of proceedings of the Court of Appeal of 22nd May, 2026 and which was put before his Lordship as Exhibit MAC 2, the Court of Appeal specifically pronounced that ‘the delivery of the judgment is still part of the proceedings of the court’,” the statement said.
Adeleke appealed to residents of Osun State to remain calm, noting that the Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday.
“Efforts to stop Osun people from exercising their voting rights will fail by the special grace of Almighty God. The Rule of Law and Humanity shall prevail at the end of the day,” he said.
“I call on Osun people to remain calm and be assured that our rights will be affirmed and our party, the Accord, will be on the ballot on August 15.”
The governor further expressed confidence in his re-election bid.
“We will not only be on the ballot, we will overwhelmingly win the forthcoming governorship election. We should remain calm and forge ahead with mobilisation of our people.”
He also confirmed that the official launch of his re-election campaign would go ahead as planned on Tuesday, adding that legal steps were already being taken to challenge the ruling.
“Our lawyers are taking all the necessary steps to right the wrong,” he added.
The case originated from a suit asking the court to determine whether INEC is constitutionally obligated to deregister political parties that fail to meet the performance benchmarks outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The plaintiffs argued that the affected parties had failed to secure the required electoral results, including winning elective offices or obtaining at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election.
In his ruling, Justice Peter Lifu agreed with the plaintiffs and ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties.