The emergency meetings ran through the weekend. Saturday. Then Sunday.
And by Monday morning, the Nigeria Democratic Congress was set to walk into the Court of Appeal with a challenge to a court ruling that wiped out its registration. The party is not waiting.
The ruling came from the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State. That court set aside its own earlier judgment that had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to register the NDC. The reversal happened barely 48 hours before the party leadership began its marathon strategy sessions.
The timeline is tight. The stakes are high.
Opposition leaders have called the decision a move to weaken opposition forces ahead of the 2027 general election. The NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the party’s national leader, Seriake Dickson, were both in the room for Saturday’s closed-door meeting. So was the party chairman.
So was the national secretary. So were other executives. A senior party official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, confirmed the details to The PUNCH.
That Saturday session was not the end. Another emergency meeting was held on Sunday to fine-tune preparations for the appeal.
The source said the party had not yet finalized who would lead the legal team. What is clear is that the NDC National Legal Adviser, Reuben Egwuaba, will play a key role. The source put it plainly: “Yes, a number of closed-door meetings have taken place since the Kogi High Court judgment went viral.
For instance, Obi, Senator Dickson, the party chairman, the secretary and other executives were in yesterday’s meeting.” He added, “Even as we speak, there is another emergency meeting ongoing ahead of tomorrow’s appeal.” The party is acting fast. The court ruling did not just stall the NDC’s registration.
It erased a previous win. The party had already secured a judgment directing INEC to register it. That judgment was set aside.
Now the party has to go back to court to fight for its legal existence. The appeal is set for Monday. This is not a routine legal maneuver.
The NDC sees it as a direct threat to its ability to contest the 2027 election. The party has been building its structure.
It has a presidential candidate. It has national leadership. Without registration, none of that matters.
INEC cannot recognize the party. It cannot field candidates.
It cannot participate in elections. The source did not disclose the full legal strategy. He said only that the party leadership had been holding back-to-back emergency meetings to finalize it before approaching the Court of Appeal.
The national secretary was involved in the discussions, though the source did not say what role he played. Obi and Dickson are the faces of this fight. Both are well-known figures in Nigerian opposition politics.
Obi ran for president in 2023. Dickson is a former governor of Bayelsa State.
Their presence at the meetings signals the weight the party is putting on this appeal. They are not leaving the legal battle to lawyers alone. They are in the room, making decisions.
The party’s legal team is still taking shape. The national legal adviser, Egwuaba, will be central.
But who else will argue the case at the Court of Appeal remains an open question. The source said the party had not yet finalized that choice. The NDC is now racing against time.
The court ruling came down. The party reacted. Meetings were called.
Strategy was set. The appeal was prepared.
All of it happened over a weekend. Monday is the deadline.
