A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the National Democratic Party (NDP) as a political party, ruling that the association met all constitutional and legal requirements.
Justice M. G. Umar delivered the judgment on February 16 in the case filed by Hon. Ada Frederick Okwori and others against INEC. The court found that the plaintiffs complied with Sections 222–224 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as Sections 75 and 79 of the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022.
The judge declared that the NDP had fulfilled all statutory conditions for recognition and directed INEC to complete the registration process immediately. In addition, the court nullified INEC’s earlier letter dated December 18, 2025, which had rejected the association’s application, describing it as legally ineffective.
The order was issued under the hand of the presiding judge and sealed by the court registrar, Daisy Esa.
Recently, INEC also approved the registration of two new political parties, bringing the total number of recognised parties in Nigeria to 21. The newly registered parties are the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). INEC chairman Professor Joash Amupitan stated that the approvals followed a rigorous assessment process, after the commission received 171 letters of intent from associations seeking recognition as political parties.
