NDC’s registration: A party born in controversy now fighting for survival

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) entered Nigeria’s political register in February 2026 already under a cloud. Friday’s Federal High Court ruling in Lokoja, vacating the very judgment that birthed the party’s legal existence, has now turned that cloud into a full-blown storm and exposed how shaky NDC’s foundation has been from the start.

Unlike the other 13 associations INEC screened for registration ahead of 2027, the NDC was not among the associations pre-qualified for the 2025 party registration exercise.

INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan himself acknowledged this in February, stating that while only the Democratic Leadership Alliance met all conditions for registration under the Constitution, Electoral Act, and INEC guidelines, the commission registered NDC anyway in compliance with the Lokoja court judgment

In other words: NDC didn’t earn its way onto the register through INEC’s vetting process; it got there by a court order, in a case decided in just 32 days, a timeline rival party chieftain Umar Ardo has pointedly contrasted with his own association’s five-month wait.

That speed, combined with allegations that NDC failed to present supporting evidence (no constitution, no Electoral Act compliance documentation) during the original proceedings, has made the judgment a target from the moment it was delivered.

Challenges from three fronts

Friday’s ruling didn’t emerge in isolation. It’s the latest of at least three legal challenges converging on NDC simultaneously:

Justice Isah Dashen found that the December 10, 2025 judgment was constitutionally defective because it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties, including PMP, which had a legal interest in the matter. Crucially, the judge also found that material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, specifically, PMP’s claim that NDC’s registration was based on a logo PMP had previously submitted to INEC before the suit even began.

Ahidjo Karlahi’s Abuja suit, filed on June 2, 2026: This challenge goes further than procedural irregularity, asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to declare NDC’s registration unconstitutional and void, and to compel INEC to remove the party from its register entirely.

ADA’s political objection:  Umar Ardo has alleged that the original Lokoja judgment was compromised by personal connections between the presiding judge and NDC’s leadership, and has vowed an appeal “on the ground of interests.”

It’s important for readers to understand the limits of this decision. NDC has not been deregistered, and the underlying dispute over its right to exist as a party has not been decided. What Justice Dashen did was procedural: he found the original process flawed for excluding an affected party, and ordered everyone back to where they stood before December 10 — pending a fresh hearing with NDC, INEC, and PMP all properly joined.

But the practical effect, per PMP’s counsel, is significant: every action INEC took under the now-vacated judgment is reversed — the recognition, the certificate of registration, NDC’s place in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers — all withdrawn pending final determination.

What’s emerging is a pattern: a party that bypassed the normal pre-qualification screening, secured court-ordered registration unusually quickly, and is now facing simultaneous legal fire from a rival claiming logo theft, a private citizen alleging constitutional violations, and a competing association alleging judicial bias.

With the substantive suit restarting from scratch and INEC’s own credibility on the line over how it handled the original compliance, NDC’s path back onto Nigeria’s ballot for 2027 looks considerably longer and more contested than it did even a week ago.