The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified key aspects of the timetable issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, the court ruled that the timelines fixed by INEC for political parties to conduct primaries and submit, withdraw or replace candidates were inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
The court also set aside the commission’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit their membership registers and databases as part of conditions for participation in the 2027 polls.
Justice Umar held that the electoral umpire lacked the legal powers to shorten timelines already guaranteed under the Electoral Act.
According to the judgment, the time frame announced by INEC for political parties to conduct their primaries and submit candidate particulars “is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
The ruling followed a suit instituted by the Youth Party seeking an order compelling INEC to comply with the 120-day pre-election deadline stipulated in the Electoral Act for submission of party registers and candidates’ particulars.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, listed INEC as the sole defendant.
The plaintiff argued that under Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, INEC’s role is limited to receiving notices of party primaries and monitoring the process, but does not extend to fixing timelines within which political parties must conduct their primaries.
Justice Umar agreed with the argument and declared that Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act clearly provides that political parties are to submit the personal particulars of their candidates not later than 120 days before an election.
The court ruled that “INEC cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election timetable.”
The judge further held that Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2026 allows political parties to withdraw and substitute candidates up to 90 days before an election, adding that INEC had no authority to impose an earlier deadline for such substitutions.
Before the judgment, INEC had directed political parties to submit their membership registers at least 21 days before their primaries and fixed April 21, 2026, as the initial deadline.
The commission later extended the deadline to May 10, 2026.
INEC had also confirmed on May 15 that all 22 registered political parties complied with the directive by submitting their membership registers in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
