2027 Presidential Election: NDC appeals court ruling nullifying its registration, uploads Peter Obi’s name on INEC’s portal

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has filed an appeal against a court decision that overturned an earlier order mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register it as a political party.

According to report, the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, reversed its previous decision instructing INEC to register the NDC as a political party on Friday.

The ruling came in response to a move by the Peace Movement Party (PMP) to have the December 2025 judgment set aside because it was not a party to the lawsuit.

The judge, Isah Dashen, upheld the PMP application and said that all parties involved must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the case.

The judge then determined that such an omission rendered the entire procedure null and unlawful, and ordered that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 2025 judgment, pending the outcome of the substantive complaint.

In a Facebook post on Monday night, NDC National Leader Seriake Dickson stated that the party is also seeking a stay of execution of the verdict.

Mr Dickson, the NDC’s candidate for Bayelsa West District, declared that the court procedure has been served on the INEC chairman and his team “to do what is right according to law and what is legally sensible.”

“Having filed and served our appeal and the accompanying applications, the ball is now in the court of the judiciary, and we expect the judiciary to do what is right under the law,” he said.

The national leader also revealed that, following the appeal, INEC granted the NDC permission to submit the party’s candidates on its system.

“We have been given access to the (INEC) site to upload our eligible Candidates.

“My name and that of the presidential candidate (Peter Obi) have been posted on the INEC system, and that of the vice presidential candidate would be done tomorrow (today) after the deposition. He also stated that the process for other applicants is still ongoing.

Mr Dickson did not offer information about the appeal, including the court in which it was lodged.

However, we learned that the NDC filed the appeal with the Court of Appeal in Lokoja, Kogi State.

It is still unclear whether the Court of Appeal has established a hearing date for the appeal.