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The Nigerian Democratic Congress on Monday confirmed that it had filed a notice of appeal against the Federal High Court judgment that set aside its registration, assuring members and supporters that the party remained legally recognised and would soon serve the Independent National Electoral Commission with the court processes.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Osa Director, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, saying the party’s legal team successfully filed the appeal at the Court of Appeal in Lokoja, Kogi State.

“Yes, we succeeded in filing the appeal today. We are going to serve INEC very soon. Our legal team was in Lokoja, Kogi State, today,” he said.

Director dismissed reports suggesting that the party had been deregistered, insisting there was no cause for alarm.

“We are not in panic mode. Our candidates need not fear. The NDC is a registered party. This is still reflected on the portal of INEC,” he stated.

He also faulted media reports on the court judgment, arguing that the suit merely challenged the party’s logo and not its existence as a political party.

“The narrative in the media is not even right. The group only challenged the use of our logo in court. That does not mean we are deregistered.

“That is why we are thanking our members, supporters and Nigerians for their understanding and solidarity,” he added.

The appeal follows days of emergency strategy meetings involving the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi; his running mate, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso; NDC National Leader, Seriake Dickson, members of the National Working Committee and other key stakeholders.

A senior party official had earlier told The PUNCH that the leadership held marathon meetings over the weekend to fine-tune its legal strategy before approaching the Court of Appeal.

The development comes after the Federal High Court in Lokoja set aside its earlier judgment directing INEC to register the NDC, a decision the party has described as a legal setback it is determined to overturn.

The party has maintained that the judgment does not amount to its deregistration and has reassured its candidates and supporters that it remains a legally recognised political platform pending the outcome of the appeal.

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The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) as a political party.

The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, equally ordered the electoral body to release its access code to the Akin Ricketts-led leadership of the association within 72 hours.

It will be recalled that INEC had, in October 2025, revealed that ADA was among 14 pre-qualified associations that applied to be registered as political parties, having completed the upload of all required information and documentation.

Though the commission okayed the association and seven others for the next stage of the registration process, ADA approached the court alleging that its access code was wrongly released to one Umar Ardo, who is neither its Pro-tem National Chairman nor its Secretary.

It urged the court to compel INEC to issue to the plaintiff the access code to enable the association to upload the necessary information and documents for the registration of ADA as a political party.

The association also prayed the court to declare that INEC was in violation of the extant laws when it issued the access code to the second defendant, Ardo.

More so, the plaintiff urged the court to declare that the information uploaded onto INEC’s portal by the wrong person — Ardo — on behalf of ADA was in violation of the extant laws, as it was at variance with the information in the plaintiff’s letter of intent, and should therefore be declared illegal, unlawful, null and void and of no effect.

The plaintiff asked the court to order INEC to register its association as a political party and to issue a certificate of registration to it, as well as an order directing INEC to extend the deadlines of May 10, 2026, and May 30, 2026, for the submission of its digital register of members and the submission of candidates, respectively, to the electoral body.

While granting the reliefs, Justice Lifu faulted INEC for releasing its access code to Ardo, declaring the action illegal, wrongful, null and void.

He ordered INEC to open its portal for a period of one week to enable the plaintiff to upload necessary documents, including its membership register, as required by law.

Justice Lifu nullified all actions previously taken on behalf of the association by Ardo.

Although the plaintiff, Ricketts, requested 96 hours for INEC to generate and hand him the access code, Justice Lifu granted only 72 hours.

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has moved against tertiary institutions accused of withholding refunds due to students under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, warning that it is engaging affected schools and relevant authorities to ensure compliance.

NELFUND, in a public notice issued on Monday, also condemned reports of arbitrary increases in tuition and other institutional charges, describing such practices as contrary to the objectives of the student loan programme.

NELFUND said some institutions had delayed or outrightly refused to refund students who had paid their tuition before the Fund subsequently disbursed the same fees to the schools on their behalf.

“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has noted with concern reports of some tertiary institutions delaying or refusing to refund students whose tuition fees had already been paid before NELFUND disbursements, as well as arbitrary increases in tuition and other institutional charges,” the statement read.

It said the Student Loan Scheme was designed to remove financial barriers to higher education and should not become an avenue for placing additional financial burdens on students.

“The Student Loan Scheme, an initiative of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was established to remove financial barriers to higher education, not to create additional burdens for Nigerian students,” the Fund stated.

To address the issue, NELFUND said it had commenced engagements with the affected institutions and relevant authorities to ensure that eligible students receive their refunds and that institutional charges remain fair and transparent.

“NELFUND is engaging the affected institutions and relevant authorities to ensure that due refunds are made to eligible students and that institutional charges remain fair, transparent, and consistent with the objectives of the Scheme,” it said.

The Fund reiterated its commitment to protecting students and preserving public confidence in what it described as a landmark national intervention.

“NELFUND remains committed to protecting the interests of students and preserving the integrity of this landmark national intervention,” the statement added.

The latest intervention follows growing complaints by beneficiaries of the student loan scheme that some tertiary institutions have failed to refund tuition fees they paid before NELFUND settled the same obligations directly with the schools.

Students have also raised concerns over delays in processing the refunds, despite confirmations that the institutions had received payments from the Fund.

The student loan scheme, a flagship education financing initiative of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, was introduced to improve access to higher education by providing interest-free loans to eligible students in public tertiary institutions.

Under the programme, NELFUND pays tuition directly to institutions while approved upkeep allowances are paid into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

Since disbursements began, the Fund has consistently warned institutions that students who paid their fees before NELFUND’s intervention are entitled to full refunds once the Fund remits the tuition on their behalf.

Monday’s notice signals a tougher enforcement stance by the agency as it seeks to prevent abuses that could undermine confidence in the programme.