The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday overturned the judgment that cancelled the timelines the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released for the 2027 general elections.
In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, the court upheld INEC’s appeal against the Federal High Court judgment delivered on May 20.
The appellate court said the lower court failed to follow binding legal precedents. It ruled that INEC’s Revised Timetable for the 2027 elections is subsidiary legislation under the Electoral Act, 2026, and carries the same legal force as the law itself. It also held that INEC acted within its statutory powers and that every deadline in the timetable complied with the Electoral Act.
INEC had filed its appeal on May 25, raising nine grounds. It argued that the trial court wrongly failed to decide on a jurisdiction issue and insisted that the suit filed by the Youth Party (YP) was hypothetical and academic. The commission also said the court’s failure to rule on those issues denied it a fair hearing.
INEC further challenged the trial court’s finding that: “It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from their valid primaries which such a political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General Election.
“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.
“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
INEC argued that the lower court’s decision was against the weight of evidence. It asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and strike out the YP suit, saying the party lacked the legal right to file the case because it was merely academic.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court had earlier invalidated INEC’s timetable for party primaries and candidate nominations. The court also cancelled INEC’s May 10 deadline for political parties to submit their membership register and database before taking part in the elections.
The high court ruled that the deadlines for party primaries, candidate submission, withdrawal and replacement “is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
The judgment followed a suit by the YP, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, which asked the court to declare that INEC had no power under Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, to fix the period within which political parties must conduct primaries for the 2027 elections.
Justice Umar agreed with the party and held that “INEC cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election timetable.”
He also ruled that INEC could not shorten the 90-day period for candidate withdrawal and substitution under Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2026, or publish the final list of candidates earlier than the 60-day minimum period required under Section 32 of the Act.
