The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially reacted to a judgment from the Federal High Court, Abuja, that limited its powers on the election timetable.
The electoral umpire broke its silence on Friday, confirming it is closely studying the verdict. The sudden legal shift has thrown the 2027 election timetable into a state of flux, forcing a comprehensive regulatory review.
The development came after a Federal High Court ruling delivered by Justice M. G. Umar.
In a suit instituted by the Youth Party, the court voided several administrative strictures imposed by the commission. Specifically, the court nullified INEC’s stringent May 10 deadline, which required political parties to submit their comprehensive membership registers and databases long before statutory limits.
The court ruled that by advancing these deadlines, INEC had unlawfully overstepped its bounds and violated the explicit provisions of the newly enacted Electoral Act.
Justice Umar emphasized that administrative guidelines cannot override statutory legislation, effectively limiting INEC’s ability to compress the operational space required by political parties to manage their internal affairs.
In a judgement delivered by Mohammed Umar, presiding judge, said 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 ruled that the powers granted to INEC under sections 29, 82, and 84(1) of the Electoral Act do not extend to determining timelines 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 held that INEC cannot lawfully shorten the statutory period allowed for political parties to submit the particulars of candidates.
Reacting to the court ruling limiting its powers on the election timetable, INEC, through its director of voter education and publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the commission would critically study the court verdict before taking any decision.
“We have not received the judgment, and we cannot comment on it. Yes, the judgment is in the public domain, and we don’t know the reasons for the decision that was taken,” she said.
“So, there’s a need to study the whole judgment and decide on the next step to take.
