A Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the election timetable issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for party primaries and candidate nominations ahead of the 2027 general election.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, held that the electoral body does not have statutory authority to shorten or prescribe timelines for political parties’ primary elections.
INEC had earlier released a revised schedule requiring political parties to submit membership registers by 10 May, conduct primaries, and complete withdrawals and substitutions of candidates before the end of May.
But the court, in a judgement in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016 filed by the Youth Party, ruled that such directives exceeded INEC’s legal powers under the Electoral Act, 2026.
Justice Mohammed Umar held that provisions cited under Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act empower INEC to receive notices, observe and monitor primaries, but do not allow it to fix timelines for the process.
The court further declared that INEC cannot lawfully reduce the statutory period allowed for political parties to submit candidate details for elections.
In his ruling, the judge stated that the commission’s role does not extend to prescribing schedules within which parties must conduct their primaries for the 2027 elections.
The suit was filed on 11 March by the Youth Party, which argued that INEC’s timetable went beyond its legal mandate.
Speaking after the ruling, INEC said it would review the judgement before taking further steps.
“We have not received the judgement, and we cannot comment on it… there’s need to study the whole judgement and decide on the next step to take,” said Victoria Eta-Messi, the commission’s director of voter education and publicity.
