The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s guidelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, setting aside an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court that nullified the regulations.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, the appellate court ruled that the Federal High Court erred in invalidating the guidelines and restraining their implementation.
The lead judgment, prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, held that the Youth Party (YP), which instituted the suit against INEC, lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to challenge the electoral body’s guidelines.
Justice Banjoko stated that the party failed to demonstrate how the guidelines adversely affected its conduct of primary elections or the nomination of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
According to the court, the Youth Party also did not establish how the guidelines interfered with its ability to submit nominated candidates to INEC as required by law.
The three-member panel unanimously held that Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, in his May 20 judgment, wrongly nullified the guidelines on the grounds that they allegedly conflicted with provisions of the Electoral Act.
The appellate court described the lower court’s decision as a grave legal error that resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
INEC had approached the Court of Appeal, arguing that the Federal High Court failed to determine the issue of jurisdiction and wrongly entertained what it described as a hypothetical and academic suit.
Represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Alex Izinyon, the electoral commission urged the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s decision, insisting that the challenged provisions of its guidelines were consistent with the Electoral Act.
During the appeal, INEC argued that the trial court misinterpreted Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, in concluding that the commission lacked the authority to prescribe timelines for political parties to conduct their primary elections.
The commission maintained that while the Electoral Act requires political parties to submit the names of candidates who emerge from valid primaries not later than 120 days before the general election, it also empowers INEC to regulate the electoral process through operational guidelines.
The Federal High Court had held that political parties were only required to notify INEC at least 21 days before conducting their primaries, congresses, conventions or meetings for the election of party executives and candidates, and that the commission could not impose additional timelines outside those provided by the Electoral Act.
However, with Thursday’s judgment, the Court of Appeal affirmed the validity of INEC’s 2027 election guidelines, clearing the way for their implementation ahead of the next general elections.
