The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will examine the court judgement that nullified the timetable for the 2027 general election before deciding on its next line of action.
A federal high court in Abuja on Wednesday voided the timelines earlier released by INEC for the conduct of party primaries and submission of candidates by political parties.
Under the revised timetable issued by the commission, political parties were expected to submit their membership registers by May 10, conduct primaries for candidate selection, and complete withdrawals and replacement submissions before the end of May ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, the court held that INEC does not possess the statutory authority to shorten timelines already provided under the Electoral Act, 2026.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, was instituted on March 11 by the Youth Party (YP), with INEC listed as the only defendant.
Counsel to the plaintiff, J.O. Olotu, asked the court to declare that INEC’s responsibilities under sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 — including receiving notices of party primaries, candidates’ particulars and monitoring the exercises — do not include the power to determine timelines for political parties to conduct primaries ahead of the 2027 polls.
Delivering judgement, presiding judge Mohammed Umar ruled that INEC cannot “fix or prescribe the timetable within which political parties may conduct their primary elections for the purpose of nominating candidates for the 2027 general elections”.
The judge further stated that the commission’s powers under sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act do not cover setting schedules for party primaries.
“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.
Umar also ruled that INEC cannot legally reduce the statutory period allowed for political parties to submit candidates’ particulars.
Reacting to the development on Friday, Victoria Eta-Messi, INEC’s director of voter education and publicity, told TheCable that the commission would thoroughly study the judgement before making any decision.
“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.”