Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has dismissed claims that it has lost its legal status following a recent federal high court ruling in Lokoja, Kogi State, insisting that the party remains fully operational and recognised under the law.
Gatekeepers News reports that speakinh during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday, the party’s national leader and Bayelsa West senator, Seriake Dickson, said the judgment was flawed and would be challenged through the appropriate legal channels.
“It’s a court that ordinarily doesn’t have jurisdiction to sit on appeal over its own earlier judgements,” he said.
Dickson explained that the party had already activated legal measures to contest the ruling, stressing that the court’s decision would not stop the NDC from participating in the electoral process.
“Basically, we disagree as a party about the legal basis and the propriety of the ruling. The party is taking the appropriate and right legal steps to ensure that the right thing is done,” he said.
The former Bayelsa governor maintained that all candidates fielded by the party for upcoming elections were validly nominated through primaries conducted in line with guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The NDC has not been deregistered. The NDC has validly nominated candidates for all elective offices in primaries monitored nationwide by INEC,” he said.
According to him, the party successfully completed nominations for state assembly, house of representatives, senate, governorship and presidential contests, adding that the process was supervised by the electoral commission.
“I myself am also a senatorial candidate of the party. All nominations have been validly carried out, monitored by INEC, in accordance with the time frame given by INEC,” he said.
Dickson further argued that forwarding candidates’ names to INEC is only an administrative requirement and does not determine the legitimacy of nominations already concluded by the party.
“So, I assure all our candidates and members that those nominations are valid,” he said.
“The submission to INEC is an administrative procedure. So the NDC is still a party. The court itself did not deregister it. And no step has been taken whatsoever to that effect.”
The senator said the party would seek redress at the Court of Appeal and was prepared to pursue the matter to the Supreme Court if necessary.
“As soon as possible, once the appeal is lodged and the necessary papers are filed, it’s a matter that will go to the highest levels to set aside the irregular judgment,” he said.
He also claimed that public interest in the party had increased since the ruling, noting that more Nigerians were engaging with the party and expressing support for its political vision.
“From Friday, thousands of Nigerians have been flocking to our website to register.
“They now know more about our party. They sympathise with our party and our candidates. And they are flocking and buying into the vision of our party and our candidates.”
