By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

The African Alliance Party (AAP) has authorised legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), challenging the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.

AAP National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja following the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

Sadiq said the NEC approved a lawsuit seeking the deregistration of the NDC through legal channels, alleging that the party was registered in place of AAP.

He claimed that the NDC was neither among the 14 pre-qualified associations nor among the eight groups that successfully uploaded required documents and paid administrative fees during INEC’s verification exercise.

According to him, AAP was one of the two associations earlier endorsed for registration by INEC in December 2025.

“To reject AAP for a contrived NDC is an assault on the electoral process and a politics of exclusion that has impeded constitutional governance,” he said.

Sadiq maintained that AAP met all stipulated requirements, including participation in the physical verification exercise, while alleging that the NDC did not.

He called on INEC to register AAP in the interest of inclusiveness and democratic fairness.

“The registration of a political party is not a favour to any association but a constitutional process guided by law,” he added.

Sadiq also urged the commission’s leadership to ensure transparency and uphold the rule of law, stressing that due process must prevail over what he described as political manoeuvres.

He expressed confidence that the court would address the matter in line with democratic principles.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC on Feb. 5 registered two new political parties, Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), raising the total number to 21.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said DLA was the only association that fully met all legal requirements after a physical verification exercise involving 171 applicant groups.

He explained that NDC was registered in compliance with an order of the Federal High Court, Lokoja in Suit No. FHC/LKJ/CS/49/2025. (NAN)

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