Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgment of a federal high court in Abuja which nullified the timelines issued for the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Gatekeepers News reports that the commission on Monday, May 25, filed a notice of appeal alongside a motion for stay of execution of the lower court’s judgment.
Last Wednesday, the federal high court in Abuja ruled against the electoral body’s timetable for party primaries and candidate nominations.
Delivering judgment, Justice Mohammed Umar held that 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.
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016 filed on March 11 by the Youth Party.
Under the revised timetable earlier released by INEC, political parties were expected to submit their membership registers by May 10, conduct primaries to select candidates, and complete withdrawals and replacement submissions before the end of May ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), INEC based its appeal on nine grounds.
Through its counsel, Alex Izinyon, the commission argued that the trial judge erred in law by failing to address the jurisdictional issue, describing the suit as hypothetical and academic.
INEC further argued that Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, do not support “the restricted narrow interpretation accorded by the lower court”.
The commission also maintained that the trial court misdirected itself by failing to apply the provisions of Section 151 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The appeal is expected to determine the extent of INEC’s powers in regulating timelines for political party primaries and candidate nominations ahead of the next general elections.
