Umar Ardo Clarifies His Argument Against NDC Registration as A Political Party
Dr Umar Ardo has criticised the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party. In this piece, posted on his X account, he argues that the court-ordered registration...
Dr Umar Ardo has criticised the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party. In this piece, posted on his X account, he argues that the court-ordered registration remains incomplete because it does not satisfy all the conditions listed by INEC for party registration and that no evidence of such compliance was presented in court to justify the order.
He is a prominent opposition leader in Nigeria who applied for official registration of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) as a political party ahead of the 2027 general elections. As of late 2025 and early 2026, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been processing the ADA’s application. In September 2025, INEC cleared the ADA as one of 14 associations (out of 171 applicants) to proceed to the physical verification stage, the NDC inclusive.
In his statement titled Be Properly Informed on the NDC Matter, Dr Ardo wrote:
“Let me educate ignorant Nigerians who have been castigating me on the NDC matter. Please read this with an open mind. No political association can be registered as a political party without filling INEC’s Form EC15A, which is INEC’s Party Registration Form.
“This form is online, and an association pays a mandatory N2m administrative fee to be issued with INEC’s access code, with which the association will open the portal and make its application.
“In the application, it will upload the party name, acronym, logo, constitution, manifesto, names, addresses, ID cards, passport photographs, Indigene letters, etc. of its national executive members; address of national office headquarters; INEC’s payment receipt; bank account details; a sworn affidavit of truth; etc.
“It is these documents that INEC will examine to see whether they comply with the requirements of the constitution, Electoral Act and its Guidelines. And until these documents are uploaded on the INEC portal and INEC examines them and finds them to have 100% complied, it cannot register the association as a political party, because that’s the requirement of the law.
“But in the case of NDC, it DID NOT pay the N2m mandatory Administrative Fee, it did not collect the Access Code, therefore it did not FILL the Form EC15A, and it did not upload anything – ANYTHING AT ALL AS REQUIRED BY LAW. So what documents did they put before the Lokoja FHC for the court to say they fulfilled ALL the requirements of the constitution, the law and the guidelines?
“I have obtained the Certified True Copy of all documents and processes NDC placed before the court, including the judgment, and they naturally exhibited not one of these fundamental documents.
“NOT ONE! And it couldn’t because it did not fill Form EC15A and upload them into INEC’s Registration Portal! The court was thoroughly misled into making a pronouncement without any due regard to these documents, making it a highly pervasive judgment.
“It’s like someone contesting a presidential or gubernatorial primary and losing, and without filling INEC’s nomination Form EC13A or EC13B, respectively, and his party submitting to INEC. It means he was not on the ballot.
“But he goes to the tribunal, files whatever papers he deems fit, and prays the tribunal to declare him the winner as president-elect or governor-elect, and the tribunal gives him a favourable judgement without regard to the facts, ordering INEC to issue him a certificate of return. And INEC said it accepts this court order and will not appeal, and went ahead and issued him the certificate of return.
“I ask all honest and rational citizens, should Nigerians accept this scenario? NOW THIS IS EXACTLY THE CASE OF THE NDC!
“But because Peter Obi and Kwankwaso and others have joined the NDC, we are told that Nigerians must accept the NDC! If ALL NIGERIANS will accept this perversion, I WILL NOT! Period!!”
… Dr Umar Ardo
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