Nigeria Democratic Congress National Leader, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson has called on the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to remain committed to the NDC and hold the line following a damaging court ruling that has thrown the party’s legal status into fresh uncertainty ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The appeal for unity came against the backdrop of a ruling delivered on June 26 by Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, which set aside a December 2025 judgment that had compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission to register the NDC as a political party.

The court held that the original ruling was constitutionally defective because all necessary parties including the Peace Movement Party, which had sought to be joined in the suit were not heard before judgment was delivered. The ruling sent immediate shockwaves through the opposition platform, which has positioned itself as the most credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 polls.

Dickson moved quickly to steady the ship, insisting in a statement that the NDC remains validly registered and that the Lokoja ruling lacked legal merit.

Speaking on Channels Television on Sunday, he said the party had assembled a legal team and would proceed immediately to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision. “We disagree as a party with the legal basis and propriety of the ruling. The party is taking the appropriate legal steps to ensure that the right thing is done,” Dickson said. He argued that the trial court had no jurisdiction to revisit a matter on which it had already delivered a final judgment, describing the order as a violation of the doctrine of finality.

Kwankwaso, for his part, paid a visit to Dickson at his Abuja residence on Sunday as part of what he described as ongoing consultations to consolidate the party ahead of 2027. He expressed confidence in the judicial process, urging party members and supporters not to be rattled.

“As true democrats, we remain committed to the rule of law and have absolute confidence in the judicial process. No temporary setback can weaken the spirit of a movement built on hope, justice, equity, and the collective aspirations of the Nigerian people,” he said.

Peter Obi had reacted sharply to the Lokoja ruling upon learning of it, describing it as yet another blow to Nigeria’s democratic institutions and warning that political actors were increasingly using the courts to weaken the opposition.

The NDC’s national chairman, Moses Cleopas, separately assured candidates and members that the ruling did not direct the party’s deregistration and that Obi and Kwankwaso’s candidacies for the 2027 elections remained intact and unaffected.

The NDC has had a turbulent but meteoric rise since its registration, formally receiving Obi and Kwankwaso in May 2026 after both men defected from the African Democratic Congress. Eighteen members of the National Assembly followed them into the party, dramatically reshaping the opposition landscape. But the court setback, coming at a moment when the party was beginning to build serious electoral momentum, has underscored just how precarious the NDC’s foundations remain and how much may depend on Dickson’s ability to hold together a coalition of formidable but sometimes competing political forces.