The Nigeria Democratic Congress has announced that it has successfully uploaded the name of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to the Independent National Electoral Commission portal after challenging a court judgment directing the party’s deregistration.
The party said it had filed an appeal alongside an application for a stay of execution to halt the enforcement of the ruling pending the determination of the case.
The disclosure was made on Monday by the National Leader of the NDC, Senator Seriake Dickson, who explained that both the appeal and the accompanying application had been formally served on the INEC Chairman. He urged the electoral commission to act in line with the provisions of the law while the legal process runs its course.
Dickson insisted that the NDC remains a legally registered political party, stressing that it has actively participated in all electoral activities and successfully conducted its primary elections under the supervision of INEC. He noted that the commission had already granted the party access to its candidate nomination portal.
According to the former Bayelsa State governor, the names of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his own had already been uploaded to the portal. He added that the name of the vice-presidential candidate would be submitted once all required documentation is completed.
He further stated that the party remains within the timelines set by INEC for candidate submissions. Dickson explained that nominations for National Assembly candidates are expected to close on July 11, while submissions for governorship and state House of Assembly candidates will end on July 17.
Dickson also called on party members to remain calm, assuring them that there was no reason for concern. He disclosed that reconciliation efforts had commenced following the conclusion of the party’s primaries and promised that aspirants who were unsuccessful during the nomination process would be integrated into the party’s campaign structures and committees.
He expressed confidence that the courts would determine the next line of action after considering the appeal and the application for a stay of execution.
“Today, the NDC has filed an appeal against the ruling as well as a stay of execution/injunction, which has been served with a covering letter to the INEC chairman and his team to do what is right according to law and what is legally sensible.
“The Nigeria Democratic Congress has come to stay and remains a duly registered party in Nigeria which has participated in all the political processes so far, and, as I said yesterday, nomination processes have already been concluded and, in the eyes of the law, candidates have already emerged from the party for all offices across the country in primaries observed, monitored and recorded by INEC.
“What is left is the administrative process of submitting the names to INEC, and we have been granted access to the portal to upload our qualified candidates,” part of the statement read.
