Deregistration: Ondo NDC rejects Kogi court judgment

The Ondo State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has firmly rejected a Federal High Court ruling that nullified a prior judgment compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the party. Despite the court's decision in Lokoja, Kogi State, the NDC maintains its status as a valid political platform and is preparing to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal. The party emphasizes that no order has been issued for its deregistration. According to the NDC's Ondo State Chairman, Mr Kennedy Peretei, the party initially approached the Federal High Court after INEC refused its registration. The court, in December 2025, upheld the NDC's constitutional right to freedom of association and ordered INEC to register it. Peretei asserts that INEC fully complied with this judgment, and the NDC has since operated lawfully, conducting party congresses nationwide and holding a national convention. The party has also nominated candidates for the 2027 general elections and participated in recent bye-elections in Nasarawa and Enugu States. The NDC questions the legal basis for the court to entertain an application to set aside a final judgment already delivered in its favor, arguing that the trial court became functus officio after issuing its initial ruling. The party stresses that no appeal was filed against the original judgment within the statutory period and reiterates that no deregistration order has been made.

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We recall that in December 2025, following the refusal of the INEC to register NDC as a political party, it approached the Federal High Court, which upheld its constitutional right to freedom of association and ordered INEC to register the party.