“If All Nigerians Accept This Perversion, I Will Not” — Ardo Insists on Court Action Against NDC Registration

Dr. Umar Ardo has defended his opposition to the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), insisting that the party failed to comply with mandatory requirements set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a statement posted on his official X account, Ardo responded to criticism over his decision to challenge the NDC’s registration in court, arguing that the issue concerns compliance with electoral laws rather than politics.

According to him, no political association can be registered without completing INEC’s Form EC15A, the official party registration form, through the commission’s online portal.

Ardo explained that associations seeking registration are required to pay a ₦2 million administrative fee before obtaining an access code to the portal. He said applicants must then upload documents including their constitution, manifesto, executive members’ details, office address, bank information, affidavits, and proof of payment for verification by INEC.

“Until these documents are uploaded on INEC portal and INEC examines them and finds them to have 100 percent complied, it cannot register the association as a political party,” he stated.

He alleged that the NDC did not complete any of those steps before obtaining registration through a court order.

“In the case of NDC, it did not pay the ₦2 million mandatory administrative fee, it did not collect the access code, therefore it did not fill the Form EC15A and it did not upload anything at all as required by law,” Ardo said.

The ADA promoter also claimed to have obtained Certified True Copies of court filings and the judgment connected to the NDC case, maintaining that the required registration documents were absent from the records presented before the Federal High Court in Lokoja.

“The court was thoroughly misled to have made pronouncement without any due regard to these documents,” he added.

Ardo compared the situation to an electoral candidate seeking judicial victory without completing nomination procedures required by INEC, arguing that such an outcome would undermine due process.

He further rejected suggestions that his challenge was motivated by recent defections to the NDC, including those of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.

“Because Peter Obi and Kwankwaso and others have joined the NDC, we are told that Nigerians must accept NDC. If all Nigerians will accept this pervasion, I will not,” he wrote.

Ardo had earlier announced plans to pursue legal action against both INEC and the NDC, insisting that the registration process violated constitutional and electoral guidelines.