The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has assured that its candidates will be on ballot in next year’s general elections.

The National Secretary of the party, Ikenna Enekweizu, gave this assurance on Friday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He was speaking on the party’s registration battles.

Recall that a Federal High Court in sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Friday set aside its  judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as a political party.

“All our candidates will be on the ballots come 2027, and we will win the elections. We still  six months before next year.

“Let me tell you something. There’s a funny thing about this matter. We were scheduled to pick up our codes to start uploading our candidates Today. We are supposed to be at INEC Today to pick up the codes, and then at the middle of the day, the ruling just came up.

“I think it was designed and timed to stop us from picking up those codes, but I can assure you that we’ll pick them up. We’ll upload our candidates and we’ll participate in the elections.

“Our candidates and supporters have nothing to fear. We’ll win the elections because Nigerians are fed up with what is going on in this country Today. We are fed up with the hunger, the insecurity, the failures of government and the heartlessness of the government that is ruining this country,” he said.

By Vincent Ujumadu

Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has alleged that there are efforts by the Federal Government to prevent him from participating in the 2027 presidential election, expressing confidence that such attempts would not succeed.

Obi made the remarks while speaking at Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State.

According to him, despite the challenges facing his political ambition, he remains determined to pursue his presidential bid.

“If I tell you about what I am going through today, I won’t be here. Today, everything is being done to ensure that Peter Obi won’t be on the ballot next year.

“But I tell you, they won’t succeed. We are determined because if you live where there is no obstacle, then you don’t have the political will to change the society. It is the obstacle that strengthens leaders.

“I know that for me to get there, I must surmount obstacles. Things will be difficult, but determination is what will take us there. The important thing is for me to reach my destination,” he said.

Obi also urged eligible Nigerians to register to vote and obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), stressing the importance of participating in the electoral process.

“If you don’t vote, you are hurting your future,” he said.

The former governor maintained that his presidential aspiration is based on competence rather than ethnicity.

“I am contesting the presidential election not because I am an Igbo man, but because I am competent. Of all those contesting for president, I am the most qualified,” he said.

Obi also challenged other presidential aspirants, including President Bola Tinubu, to a public debate on their plans for the country.

“I challenge any of them to a debate to say what they want to do for this country, including the incumbent president. I want to change Nigeria,” he said.

Director of the Abuja School of Social Thought and Politics, Sam Amadi, has hinted that President Bola Tinubu seems “extreme and desperate to avoid losing the 2027 presidential election.

Amadi said President Tinubu might lose and it could lead to extreme response.

Posting on X, Amadi faulted Tinubu’s political strategy ahead of the 2027 elections.

He wrote: “@officialABAT strategy to avoid electoral loss in 2027 seems extreme and desperate. I believe he will lose out. But it could lead to extreme response.

“The tragedy is that the current desperation and recklessness may destroy the entire edifice of Nigerian democracy even in their failure.

“I hope there are enough patriots to step in and save Nigeria when that happens. May Nigeria survive.”