A Full Breakdown:
The NDC (Nigeria Democratic Congress) was only registered on February 5, 2026, via a court order, not because it met all INEC’s requirements.
INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan confirmed that the Federal High Court in Lokoja ordered the commission to register NDC, and the commission simply complied with that order. (The Guardian Nigeria).
That’s the starting point of their trouble.
Here are the key deadlines they’re up against:
1. Party Primaries Window
INEC has informed parties that they are free to fix the dates of their primaries within the approved period of April 23, 2026, to May 30, 2026. (ThisDayLive)
That’s a tight window, and NDC was barely registered when it opened.
2. Membership Register Submission.
The Big One
Under Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, every political party must maintain a digital membership register and submit it to INEC at least 21 days before any primary, congress, or convention.
Only individuals whose names appear in this pre-submitted register are eligible to vote or contest as candidates. (National Network)
The final deadline for submission of political parties’ registers of members has been extended to May 10, 2026. (ThisDayLive) Miss that, and you can’t field any candidate in 2027.
The register must contain, for each member: name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN), and photograph, in both hard and soft copy. (Technext) Building that digitally from scratch — as a brand new party — in a few months is a mammoth task.
3. No Congresses = No Convention = No Primaries=
You can’t hold a national convention without first conducting state-level congresses. NDC was registered in February 2026.
The party announced it had submitted notices for upcoming congresses and national convention (Legal Nigeria) , but submitting a notice is not the same as completing those processes. State congresses across 36 states + FCT, then a national convention — all requiring 21 days’ advance notice to INEC each time – is logistically nearly impossible to complete before the May 30, 2026 primaries deadline
4. The 21-Day Notice Rule
A party that fails to submit the membership register within the stipulated time will not be allowed to field candidates for that election. (TheCable) There’s no grace period or waiver — the law is clear.
The Core Problem in Summary
NDC is a brand-new party registered via court order in February 2026. To participate in the 2027 elections, it must:
Conduct ward congresses → state congresses → national convention (each with 21-day INEC notice)
Build a full digital NIN-linked membership register
Submit that register to INEC by May 10, 2026
Conduct primaries before May 30, 2026
That’s essentially 4 months to build a nationwide party structure from the ground up and satisfy some of the most stringent electoral compliance requirements Nigeria has ever introduced. As you rightly pointed out — it’s an extremely steep hill to climb, and the clock has nearly run out.
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