The Federal High Court judgment nullifying the legal recognition of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has sparked fresh political controversy with divergent opinions from political actors and stakeholders.
To the Kwankwasiyya Movement, the ruling was part of a deliberate plot by the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Newsmen in Kano, the movement’s spokesperson, Habibu Saleh Mai Lemo, said the judgment did not come as a surprise, alleging that the ruling party had consistently deployed various tactics to undermine political opponents.
We already knew that Tinubu and the APC will do anything in their power to suppress the opposition, so we were not shocked by this new development because they have used several tricks to wound other opposition parties before us. So this will not destroy or delay any of our plans ahead of the 2027 elections.”
Mai Lemo expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would overturn the ruling, which he said was contrary to the rule of law.
We have hope that the Court of Appeal will ensure justice is served because this ruling goes totally against the rule of law and we will not stand for it. This is not a fight for our political future alone; it is a struggle to ensure that the Tinubu administration does not succeed in destroying the opposition bloc and promoting a one-party system as it is clearly trying to do.”
He argued that the issue goes beyond the fortunes of the NDC and other opposition parties, warning that it poses a threat to Nigeria’s democratic principles.
“We must strive to protect democratic principles because this doesn’t just affect the members of the NDC or other opposition parties; it affects the fundamental rights of the average Nigerian by trying to take away our right to choose our leaders from a variety of choices as it should be in any functional democratic society.”
