A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the National Democratic Party (NDP) as a political party, following a ruling that the association satisfied all legal requirements.
Delivering judgment, Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court held that the plaintiffs, led by NDP National Chairman Ada Frederick Okwori, complied with constitutional and statutory provisions guiding party registration.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2796/2025, asked the court to compel INEC to recognise the association after it allegedly failed to act on its application.
In his ruling delivered on February 16, 2026, Justice Umar affirmed that the group met the conditions outlined in Sections 222–224 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations for political parties.
The court declared that the association had fulfilled all requirements necessary for registration and that the electoral commission had a legal duty to grant it recognition.
Justice Umar also nullified INEC’s letter dated December 18, 2025, which declined or failed to approve the application, describing it as invalid and without legal effect.
He subsequently ordered the commission to register the NDP without delay and grant it all rights and privileges accorded to recognised political parties, including the issuance of a certificate of registration and related documents.
The court further ruled that if INEC fails to carry out the directive, the NDP would be deemed duly registered by operation of Section 75(4) of the Electoral Act 2022.
