The Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) calls on the Nigeria working people, farmers, and youth, the NLC, and TUC to call the Independent National Electoral Commission plan to re-list the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) and 21 other political parties.

INEC duty is to protect the electorates’ right of choice and not to abridge it or deny political parties like SPN the right to contest in electoral politics and grant same to pro-rich big business political parties like the APC, PDP to monopolize the polity and freely continue with their anti-poor policies of privatization and deregulation of the Nigeria economy, unchallenged. By this act of deregistration and refusing a court order to re-list the parties, INEC violates the right of freedom of association as enshrined in the Nigeria 1999 constitution amended.

The SPN alongside other deregistered parties appears today 28th October 2021 in the Supreme Court after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) approached the Supreme Court to hear its final legal resolution on the matter.

This step was taken after INEC had flagrantly disobeyed the subsisting court judgment despite being bound by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. INEC failed to comply with any subsisting court judgment and also, failed to relist the SPN and 21 other registered political parties in full compliance with the August 10 judgment of the Court of Appeal.

This is what has informed the MSA to call on the Nigeria working masses to stand with the SPN appearing today 28th October 2021 in the Supreme Court after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) approached the Supreme Court to hear its final legal resolution on the matter of deregistering SPN. 

INEC is hiding under the guise of not knowing which of the two separate judgments delivered on July 29 and August 10, 2020, respectively to comply with.

As we had earlier contested that the grounds of the appeal by the National Unity Party (NUP) which was adjudged by the Court of appeal on 29th July 2020, Abuja Judicial Division is also on the same grounds as the appeal filed by the ACD and 22 other parties including the SPN which informed the August 10, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeal.

For the sake of clarity, the Court of Appeal ruled on July 29th over the appeal filed by the NUP that INEC does have the power to deregister political parties. However, in the case brought by the ACD and 21 other parties including the SPN, the veteran Justices of the Court of Appeal clearly stated in their August 10, 2020 judgment, that the grounds that was contested was not the powers of the INEC to deregister, rather it was disproportionate and thoughtless process employed by INEC.

This INEC refusal to heed the appeal Court judgment and relist SPN has further confirmed our stance that INEC is no way independent but rather executing the agenda and defending the political interest of the corrupt capitalist’s political office holders which despite their persistent failure, want to continue dominating the political space.

We, therefore, call on Nigerians, and indeed the NLC and TUC, to call on INEC to re-list the SPN and all other deregistered parties in line with the favourable judgment which the Supreme Court will so affirm, and also call on the working people to join the SPN, built it and commence the process of organizing of building a Mass Working Peoples’ Political Party to take on the ruling elites, defeat them and commence the transformation of Nigeria that will place the interest of the Working Masses at the guiding principle of governance.

The MSA stands with SPN to demand:

• No to the deregistration of the Socialist Party of Nigeria and the 21 other political parties.

• That INEC should respect the judgment of the Court of Appeal against its directive to deregister political parties.

• INEC should respect the right of independent candidacy to contest for political office.

• INEC should stop the violation of the right and freedom of association enshrined in the 1999 Constitution amended.

• That the conditionalities of INEC to deregister political parties are undemocratic and anti-people.

SIGNED

Dagga Tolar

Secretary-General