Federal High Court voids deadlines, curtails INEC’s authority under Electoral Act.
Abuja: In a landmark ruling, the Federal High Court has nullified the Independent National Electoral Commission’s timetable for the 2027 General Elections, declaring that the commission acted beyond its legal powers by imposing deadlines shorter than those guaranteed under the Electoral Act, 2026. The judgment not only cancels INEC’s plan but also sets a precedent limiting the commission’s discretion in future electoral scheduling.
Justice M. G. Umar of the Abuja Judicial Division, in a judgment order issued on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026 — filed by Youth Party as Plaintiff against INEC as Defendant — granted all substantive reliefs sought by the Plaintiff, delivering a sweeping rebuke of the electoral commission’s timetable-making powers.
The court declared, in no uncertain terms, that INEC does not possess the statutory authority to fix or prescribe the timetable for political parties to conduct their primary elections to nominate candidates for the 2027 general elections.
What The Court Decided
In a five-count judgment order, Justice Umar made the following binding declarations:
On Candidate Submission Deadlines: The court declared that under Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 — which requires political parties to submit the personal particulars of their candidates not later than 120 days before an election — INEC cannot lawfully abridge or shorten that statutory period by prescribing an earlier deadline in its 2027 election timetable.
On Withdrawal and Substitution of Candidates: Relying on Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2026, which permits political parties to withdraw and substitute candidates not later than 90 days before the conduct of an election, the court held that INEC cannot fix an earlier deadline for the withdrawal and replacement of candidates in its 2027 timetable.
For publishing final candidate lists, Section 32 of the Act requires at least 60 days’ notice before publication. The court said INEC cannot publish the list earlier than this period.
For campaigning: The court explained, using Section 98 of the Electoral Act, 2026, that INEC does not have the power to set a campaign end date only two days before the election in its 2027 plan.
On Membership Register Timelines: The court held that the INEC timeframe for the submission of membership registers for the conduct of primary elections is not applicable to primary elections held to replace withdrawn candidates — a decision with significant implications for last-minute candidate substitutions.
The Nuclear Order
More than just the statements, the court also issued an order striking down all the time frames in INEC’s new timetable for the 2027 General Elections. This covered primaries, personal details, candidate changes, publishing the final list, and campaigning. The court said these violate the rules of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Background
The suit was filed on March 11, 2026, through an Originating Summons, with J. O. Olotu, Esq. appearing as counsel for the Plaintiff (Youth Party) and Sarafa Yusuf, Esq. representing the Defendant (INEC). The judgment was delivered on May 20, 2026, and certified true copies were issued by the Federal High Court the following day, May 21, 2026. The court’s Registrar is Mu’azu Kasimu.
Implications
The judgment, if not successfully appealed, effectively forces INEC to revisit and reconstruct its 2027 general election timetable in compliance with the minimum statutory periods prescribed under the Electoral Act, 2026. Political parties — which had been working against INEC’s primary and candidate-submission deadlines — now have a court order behind them demanding that those windows be restored to their full statutory length.
The ruling also raises the question of whether INEC’s timetable, which has been shared and partly used, can remain as the plan for the 2027 elections while this court order is in effect.
INEC has not publicly responded to the judgment as of press time. TheDiggerNews.com will update this report as developments warrant.
𝗞𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟭𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀, 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗔𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺, 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀, 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺.
TheDiggerNews.com | www.thediggernews.com | 08039135472 | Ibadan, Nigeria