A court ruling tried to throw a spanner in the works — but the Nigeria Democratic Congress isn’t backing down.

Here’s the gist from cbinews.tv:

So, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has come out swinging after a Federal High Court ruling in Lokoja threatened to undo the judgement that got them registered with INEC in the first place.

Their message? “We’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere.”

In a statement put out on Friday, 26 June 2026, the NDC said the whole thing kicked off when the Peace Movement Party (PMP) filed an application to get the original judgement tossed. The NDC’s take on PMP? An “unregistered association” that’s not even part of the current political process.

Quick backstory: Back in December 2025, NDC dragged INEC to court after the commission refused to register them. The court sided with NDC, citing their constitutional right to freedom of association, and ordered INEC to register the party. Since then, they’ve been busy — signing up members across the country, running congresses from ward level right up to national, holding their convention, and wrapping up primaries in line with INEC’s timetable.

They didn’t just sit on the sidelines either. NDC took part in the recent by-elections in Nasarawa and Enugu States and they’ve already nominated candidates for all elective offices ahead of the 2027 general election.

Now to the current drama. NDC argues PMP has no legal leg to stand on here — it’s not a registered party and wasn’t part of the registration exercise. Plus, they say the trial court already gave a final judgement, so it doesn’t have jurisdiction to reopen the case.

Most importantly, they stressed that the court didn’t actually order their deregistration. But they’re still not happy. Lawyers have been told to head straight to the Court of Appeal to challenge both the jurisdiction and the validity of Justice Isah Dashen’s order.

“There was no order directing our deregistration. However, we are dissatisfied with the decision that has been made, and we have instructed our team of lawyers to immediately proceed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the jurisdiction and propriety of His Lordship’s order,” the NDC said.

To their candidates and supporters, the message is simple: business as usual. The party says it’s confident the appellate court will overturn the ruling.

And they had a parting shot too: “We condemn efforts by those who seek to shrink the democratic space and stifle opposition voices and alternatives. Nigerians have a right to a full range of opinions, ideas, and alternatives, and political platforms and candidates should be allowed to participate in the 2027 general election process, which has already gone midway.”

Source: cbinews.tv

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