JUDICIARY NOT AN INSTRUMENT FOR LEGITIMIZING POLITICAL SHORTCUTS, SAYS FERIFE

• CALLS NDC’S PREDICAMENT SELF-INFLICTED
• CONDEMNS PARTY FOR IGNORING INTERNAL DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES
• URGES OTHER PARTIES TO RESPECT CONSTITUTION, ELECTORAL ACT, INEC’S GUIDELINES

Prominent Nigerian clergyman, legal scholar and political advocate, Very Rev. Fr. Benedict Ferife, on Sunday described the reported Federal High Court judgment setting aside the registration of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as a self-inflicted wound.

“Democracy is sustained not by public sympathy or media narratives but by strict obedience to the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the rules governing political parties. The NDC’s present predicament is, sadly, not persecution. It is a self-inflicted wound’’.

In a statement titled ‘’NDC’S self-inflicted wounds: Why due process matters in democracy’’, Ferife lamented that the NDC  found itself seeking judicial intervention instead of ensuring full compliance with INEC’s constitutional and statutory requirements.

‘’Courts exist to interpret and enforce the law—not to rescue political parties from the consequences of their own procedural failures’’

Ferife said the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) ‘’is supreme and its provisions have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria’’.

‘’Section 1(2) declares: “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution’’

According to him, no political party is above the law.

‘’Even more troubling are reports that the party ignored internal democratic processes by allegedly issuing tickets to persons who neither participated in nor emerged victorious in validly conducted primaries. If established, such actions amount to a direct affront to the Electoral Act’’.

He went on: ‘’Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022 requires political parties to nominate candidates through democratically conducted primaries, while Sections 82 and 83 require prior notification to INEC and empower the Commission to monitor those primaries. These provisions are not mere technicalities; they are legal safeguards against impunity and candidate imposition. Similarly, Section 223 of the Constitution requires political parties to operate according to democratic principles. Democracy must begin within the political party before it can be preached to the nation.

He blamed the woes that befell the party on its national leadership.

‘’One cannot ignore due process during party primaries, impose candidates, sideline legitimate aspirants, and later seek the protection of the courts when the consequences of those actions become apparent. The judiciary is a guardian of the law—not an instrument for legitimizing political shortcuts’’.

The transparency promoter said the leadership of the NDC ignored due process.

‘’If the NDC ultimately loses the opportunity to sponsor candidates in forthcoming elections, including any presidential candidate, the responsibility lies first with those who ignored due process. Political convenience can never replace constitutional compliance. This episode should serve as a warning to every political party in Nigeria’’.

Known for his theological writings and strong involvement in Nigerian democratic advocacy, Ferife urged political parties in the country to respect the Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC’s guidelines, and internal party democracy.

‘’Respect for the Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC’s guidelines, and internal party democracy is not optional—it is mandatory. The rule of law is impartial. It neither rewards popularity nor excuses procedural recklessness. Political parties that sow disregard for due process should not be surprised when they reap legal consequences.