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By Lawrence Agbo
The senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, has alleged that the recent court ruling affecting the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) was aimed at preventing the party from participating in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on the controversy surrounding the June 26 decision of Justice Inyang Ekwo, the NDC chieftain argued that the same court which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the party was now being used to frustrate its political ambitions.
According to Umeh, the December 10, 2025 judgment compelling INEC to register the NDC had already produced legal consequences, making it difficult to justify the court’s latest decision.
“That order Justice Ekwo made has borne children; it has produced effects. INEC obeyed it, complied with it and did not appeal against it. The NDC exists because of that order,” he said.
He questioned the relevance of revisiting the case months later, insisting that the ruling served no purpose other than to cripple the NDC ahead of the next general election.
“Of what benefit is his order to PMP? Nothing. Except to disable the NDC from taking part in the election,” Umeh alleged.
The lawmaker also rejected claims that the NDC’s victory sign belonged to the Peace Movement Party (PMP), arguing that the symbol is widely recognised and only becomes the exclusive property of a political party after it has been officially registered by INEC.
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He noted that Justice Ekwo had already considered and dismissed the issue of PMP’s logo in his December 2025 judgment, making it improper for the same court to revisit the matter.
Umeh maintained that the trial court had become functus officio after delivering its final judgment and lacked the authority to review its own decision.
Describing the ruling as a “total miscarriage of justice,” he argued that any party dissatisfied with the registration judgment ought to have challenged it at the Court of Appeal rather than asking the same judge to reconsider it.
He further contended that the decision had serious implications for the NDC’s participation in the 2027 elections, noting that party primaries had already concluded nationwide.
According to him, the ruling effectively shut the party out of the electoral process, leaving its candidates with virtually no realistic opportunity to migrate to another platform.
“The door has been shut. The only window that is open will be substitution in another political party, but it is practically impossible for over a thousand candidates to move to another party and replace existing candidates,” he said.
Umeh also referenced Peter Obi’s reaction to the judgment, saying the NDC presidential candidate viewed the decision as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s democracy.
Calling for the judgment to be overturned, the senator insisted that the Appeal Court should set aside what he described as an **”obnoxious”** ruling, arguing that the law should not allow an entity previously dismissed by the court to be used to undermine a political party that had already been legally registered.
