Jane Salihu
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has vowed to challenge the Federal High Court ruling that set aside an earlier judgment compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register it as a political party, insisting that it remains legally recognised and eligible to participate in the 2027 general elections.
Addressing journalists on Friday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, described the Lokoja court’s decision as legally defective, arguing that it neither ordered the party’s deregistration nor invalidated the nominations of its candidates for the 2027 elections.
He assured party members and supporters across the country that the NDC had already instructed its legal team to file an appeal, challenging both the court’s jurisdiction and the validity of the ruling.
According to Cleopas, the application that led to Friday’s judgment was filed by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which he described as an unregistered association that was neither a party to the original suit nor recognised as a registered political party.
He recalled that after INEC declined to register the NDC, the party approached the Federal High Court in December 2025 and secured a judgment affirming its constitutional right to freedom of association while directing the electoral commission to register it.
Since then, he said, the party has conducted nationwide membership registration, held ward, local government, state and national congresses, organised its national convention, and actively participated in INEC activities, including recent by-elections in Nasarawa and Enugu states.
Cleopas disclosed that the party had concluded its primaries and nominated candidates for all elective offices, including the presidency, governorships, Senate, House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly, with preparations underway for their formal submission to INEC in line with the electoral timetable.
He maintained that the trial court had become functus officio after delivering its earlier judgment and therefore lacked the jurisdiction to set it aside through an interlocutory application. He also argued that issues concerning the party’s name, logo and colours had already been settled in the earlier judgment, which had not been appealed.
“The court made no order directing the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress,” Cleopas said.
The party further affirmed that its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, had emerged through its primary election and remained its valid candidates for the 2027 general election.
Reaffirming the party’s resolve, Cleopas said the NDC would exhaust all legal avenues to defend its registration and ensure its continued participation in Nigeria’s democratic process.