The vice presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has urged the teaming supporters of the party, particularly those affiliated with the Obident and Kwankwasiyya movements, to remain calm and await further action from the party.
Kwankwaso, a former presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, made this statement during an interview that was posted on X on Wednesday.
The Eastern Updates reported that a ruling delivered by Justice Isa H. Dashen at the Lokoja Judicial Division effectively overturned the court’s earlier judgment from December 10, 2025, which had mandated the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to register the NDC.
The court explained that the previous ruling was annulled due to its impact on the legal rights of the Peace Movement Party, which asserted ownership of the logo utilized by the NDC but was not included as a party in the initial lawsuit.
The National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, stated on Saturday that the commission is awaiting the official documentation before finalizing its response.
Speaking, Kwankwaso expressed disappointment that the court would base its decision on a lawsuit from a non-existent entity, the Peace Movement Party, to invalidate its prior ruling that required INEC to register the NDC.
“Anyone who examines the logo submitted to INEC[by the NDC] which features a victory sign with fingers, will see that it is entirely distinct from that of the APC. Therefore, as stipulated by law and the Constitution, the members of the NDC approached the High Court in Lokoja last December, and the court’s ruling, as anticipated, was that INEC should register the party since there was no significant similarity that would warrant the rejection of the application.
“From the end of December to date is six months. INEC did not appeal[the judgement] In the contrary, they decided to register the party. Meaning they did the right thing, and INEC has been attending all the programmes at all levels, ranging from the congresses to the national convention, and even the special convention that we held recently were all witnessed by INEC.
“To our disappointment, we only heard that a group that applied for registration, also with INEC, which was rejected, went to the same court to the same judge and requested that our party be deregistered, and it was a very huge shocker to us as members, and even other well-meaning political parties, brothers and sisters, within and outside the country. It was a very big shock that the same judge in the same court decided to reverse himself because of some people who are not representing any registered party and who are not representing any registered or known organization in this country, just from the blues the same judge decided to reverse himself.
“As law-abiding people in this country, what we’ve decided, of course, is to go to court as soon as possible. I believe this coming Monday to make sure that the stakeholders are being asked to stay any action, and of course appeal so that the registration will be restored
“So this is the opportunity to appeal to our supporters across the country and beyond, especially the young men and women who are in the NDC, our supporters in Kwankwasiyya and Obidient across the country to wait because we believe that good reason will prevail.”
The 2027 presidential ambition of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso suffered a fresh setback on Friday after a Federal High Court in Lokoja set aside its earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as a political party.
The Eastern Updates reported that Justice Isah Dashen, who delivered the ruling, held that the court’s earlier judgment affected the rights of the Peace Movement Party, PMP, which claimed ownership of the logo adopted by the NDC.
The judge ruled that the PMP was not joined as a party in the original suit despite its claim over the disputed logo.
Recall that the NDC was registered by INEC following the same court’s order issued on December 15, 2025.
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According to counsel to the PMP, C.S. Ekeocha, the associlyiation approached the court after discovering that the NDC registration was based on a logo it had earlier submitted to INEC before the litigation commenced.
The ruling means the dispute over the registration of the NDC will return to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing with all relevant parties participating.
The decision has since triggered widespread reactions from the NDC, opposition figures, legal experts and political commentators.
Opposition parties are warning that the development could have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s multi-party democracy ahead of the 2027 general election.
