The promoter of the All Democratic Alliance, ADA, Dr. Umar Ardo, has explained why he went to court to challenge the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’, Ardo said the NDC did not follow the due process for registering a new political party.
He said the process starts with formation of an association, then a letter of intent to INEC with proposed name, acronym and logo, and then access to INEC portal to fill Form EC15.
Ardo said after NDC submitted its letter of intent, INEC rejected it because its logo looked like those of existing parties.
He said instead of going to court within 14 days as the law provides, the group wrote back to INEC for reconsideration, which was not granted.
He alleged that the group later went to court with only the letter of intent and its correspondence with INEC, without filling Form EC15 or uploading required documents like constitution, manifesto, list of national executives and proof of payment.
Ardo said INEC knew the group did not meet the requirements but failed to challenge the court judgement.
He said his action is personal and not to target Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, who are the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the NDC.
"I need to explain that so that the castigation against me and the misunderstanding by a lot of Nigerians may be assuaged," he said.
Why I went to court to challenge NDC registration - Umar Ardo