The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will wait to receive the Certified True Copy (CTC) of a recent Federal High Court judgment before taking any action on the legal dispute involving the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The commission disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
INEC said although it is aware of media reports that the Federal High Court in Lokoja set aside an earlier judgment directing the commission to register the NDC as a political party, it cannot make any official pronouncement until its legal department reviews the certified court ruling.
"The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is aware of reports circulating in the media regarding the judgment delivered on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress," the statement read.
According to the commission, it has not yet received the Certified True Copy of the judgment.
"However, as of this moment, the Commission has not yet received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the court's order."
Oketola said INEC's legal department would carefully examine the judgment before advising the commission on the appropriate course of action.
"Once the Commission's legal department receives and thoroughly studies the CTC of the judgment, INEC will take an informed, lawful decision in line with the court's directives."
He added that the commission would not comment further until that process is completed.
"Until then, we cannot comment on the specifics of the ruling, and the public is urged to await the Commission's formal position on the matter."
The statement comes a day after Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja set aside the court's December 10, 2025 judgment, which had ordered INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
In his ruling, Justice Dashen held that the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which claimed ownership of the "victory sign" logo relied upon by the NDC during the registration proceedings, was not joined as a party in the earlier case despite having a direct interest in the matter.
The court consequently nullified the earlier judgment, restored all parties to the positions they occupied before the December 2025 decision, and ordered that the substantive suit be heard afresh with all necessary parties properly joined.
The NDC has, however, rejected the judgment, insisting that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to set aside its own final decision.
The party's National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, argued that the court became *functus officio* after delivering its December 2025 judgment and therefore had no legal authority to reopen the case.
Cleopas also announced that the party would challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, maintaining that the judgment did not amount to the deregistration of the NDC and expressing confidence that the appellate court would overturn the decision.
Despite the growing political reactions to the ruling, INEC has maintained that it will take its next step only after its legal team receives and reviews the Certified True Copy of the court's judgment.
