By Precious Nnadi
Civic Action for Democracy (CAD) has raised a red flag of historic proportions, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of engineering what it describes as a “grand electoral conspiracy” capable of derailing the 2027 general elections and plunging Nigeria into constitutional meltdown.
In a fiery world press conference held on December 12, CAD’s Executive Director, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, alleged that INEC has been secretly protecting a deregistered political party — the Action Peoples Party (APP) — despite a Supreme Court judgment affirming its deregistration. According to CAD, this is not an administrative slip but a “well-coordinated, institutional fraud” masterminded by corrupt INEC insiders and powerful political actors.
The group insists there is no legal basis for APP’s continued existence in INEC’s database, dismissing claims of an interim court order as “the most audacious lie ever told in Nigeria’s electoral history.” CAD argues that no court suit, no restraining order, and no legal documentation exists to justify APP’s exemption from the 2020 deregistration of 74 non-performing political parties.
Adding fuel to the fire, CAD disclosed that the alleged conspirators have crafted a two-phase strategy: first, use APP’s illegal existence to stage a post-election judicial ambush to invalidate the 2027 results; second, trigger mass boycott and unrest by questioning INEC’s integrity. CAD warns that both scenarios are designed to cause nationwide chaos and force a constitutional emergency that could cripple Nigeria’s democracy.
The organisation points to chilling historical parallels, citing Kenya’s 2017 election annulment and Côte d’Ivoire’s 2010–2011 post-election civil war as reminders of how institutional manipulation can snowball into national catastrophe. With Nigeria already battling economic strain, insecurity, ethnic tensions, and public distrust, CAD believes the country is too fragile to absorb another shock.
CAD is demanding immediate action from INEC: a public declaration reaffirming APP’s deregistration, urgent removal of APP from the party register, exposure of officials who orchestrated the fraudulent retention, and collaboration with security agencies for prosecution. The group also called on the NSA, DSS, EFCC, and the Attorney-General to investigate what it terms a “national security threat disguised as a political party.”
Civil society groups, the media, the Nigerian Bar Association, and international observers have also been urged to intervene before the situation spirals into an avoidable electoral disaster. CAD insists the stakes are too high to ignore, stressing that INEC’s credibility, national stability, and the future of Nigeria’s democracy hang in the balance.
As the countdown to 2027 intensifies, CAD’s explosive allegations have raised the temperature of Nigeria’s political landscape — and all eyes are now on INEC’s next move.
