The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will review a recent Federal High Court judgment that invalidated its schedule for the 2027 general elections.
On Wednesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja struck down the commission’s designated deadlines for candidate nominations and political party primaries. Prior to this ruling, INEC’s updated calendar required political parties to turn in their membership registers by May 10, finish their primary elections, and manage any candidate withdrawals or substitutions before May concluded.
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The court, however, determined that INEC does not possess the legal authority to shorten timelines established by the Electoral Act, 2026.
The lawsuit, designated FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, was initiated on March 11 by the Youth Party, naming INEC as the only defendant. Represented by lawyer J.O. Olotu, the plaintiff requested multiple remedies.
Among them was a declaration that INEC’s statutory roles to monitor party exercises and receive primary notices or candidate details under sections 29, 82, and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, do not grant it the power to dictate the periods during which parties must hold their primaries for the 2027 elections.
In his ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar decided that INEC is barred from setting or dictating the specific timeframe for political parties to run primary elections to choose their 2027 candidates. The judge emphasized that the responsibilities given to the commission under sections 29, 82, and 84(1) of the Electoral Act do not authorize it to control primary timelines.
“A declaration is hereby made that upon a proper consideration and interpretation of the provisions of sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, the powers of the defendant to receive notice of party primaries and the personal particulars of candidates, and its duty to attend, observe and monitor such primaries, does not extend to fixing or prescribing the timetable within which political parties may conduct their primary elections,” the judge ruled.
Furthermore, Justice Umar stated that the electoral umpire cannot legally reduce the statutory timeframe given to political parties for submitting candidate details.
Responding to the court’s decision on Friday, Victoria Eta-Messi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, explained that the commission plans to thoroughly analyze the verdict before adopting an official stance.
“We have not received the judgement, and we cannot comment on it. Yes, the judgement is in the public domain, and we don’t know the reasons for the decision that was taken,” she said.
“So, there’s need to study the whole judgement and decide on the next step to take.”
