Loading ...ELELE, NIGERIA — Barely hours after a legal earthquake threatened the foundation of his 2027 presidential vehicle, the standard-bearer of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has accused the federal government of manipulating the judiciary to forcefully push him off the ballot.
Speaking on Friday evening at Madonna University in Elele, Rivers State (bordering Anambra), where he attended an institutional function, Obi broke his silence following a high-stakes ruling by a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The court, presided over by Justice Isah Dashen, unexpectedly vacated its own December 10, 2025, judgment—the precise judicial decree that had legally compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register and recognize the NDC as a political party ahead of the 2027 polls.
“They Are Afraid of the Ballot”
Addressing an animated crowd of students and stakeholders at Madonna University, the former Anambra State governor stated that the abrupt reversal of the party’s legal recognition is part of a grand, state-sponsored plan to disenfranchise millions of Nigerians who view the Obi-Kwankwaso “OK Movement” as the ultimate alternative to the ruling class.
“Today, the Federal Government is doing everything possible to stop me from becoming a candidate in this 2027 election, I can tell you for a fact—they won’t win,” Obi declared to thunderous applause.
Obi’s public pushback mirrors an earlier, aggressive stance by the NDC’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, who slammed the forces behind the lawsuit as “cowards who are terrified of facing Peter Obi at the polls.”
Inside the Lokoja Judgment: What Happened in Court?
The dramatic legal u-turn occurred on Friday, June 26, 2026, when Justice Isah Dashen upheld an application filed by a rival group operating under the name Peace Movement Party (PMP).
| Judicial Component | Details of the Lokoja Ruling |
| The PMP’s Argument | The PMP approached the court through its counsel, C.S. Ekeocha, claiming that the NDC’s registration was based on a logo and structural design that the PMP had already officially submitted to INEC before the legal battle began. |
| The Court’s Verdict | Justice Dashen ruled that the initial December 2025 judgment was constitutionally defective because a necessary, interested party (the PMP) was completely excluded and denied a fair hearing. |
| The Immediate Impact | The judge ordered that the status quo be completely restored to what it was before December 2025. This effectively mandates INEC to suspend the NDC’s certificate of registration pending a fresh trial of the substantive suit. |
Counsel for the applicant noted that the technical implication is immediate: every step INEC took in compliance with the vacated order—including adding the NDC to official party registries—stands legally paused until all three parties (INEC, PMP, and NDC) argue the matter afresh.
NDC Leadership Moves to Appeal, Alleges Sabotage
The sudden judgment has thrown the opposition camp into high-gear defense. Reacting via a statement on his official X handle, the National Leader of the NDC and former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, urged party structures across the nation to remain calm, describing the Lokoja order as a meritless anomaly.
“This order lacks legal merit and is intended to affect the foundational credibility and efforts of our party. The order is illegal and will not stand,” Dickson asserted. “We have already assembled our team of lawyers, and they are taking appropriate steps to set the order aside and restore normalcy.”
Political analysts monitoring the 2027 terrain note that this legal roadblock represents a critical litmus test for the NDC. Coming just after the party successfully consolidated its leadership structure, the logo dispute will either force a prolonged courtroom distraction or compel the “OK Movement” to seek a rapid tactical compromise to protect its ballot space.
