The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will study the court ruling voiding the general election timetable.
A federal high court in Abuja had on Wednesday voided the timelines issued by the commission for the conduct of party primaries and submission of candidates by political parties.
Under the revised timetable earlier released by INEC, political parties were expected to submit their membership registers by May 10 and conclude primaries and candidate substitution processes before the end of May.
However, the court held that the commission lacked the statutory powers to abridge timelines provided under the Electoral Act 2026.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, was filed by the Youth Party against INEC.
Delivering judgment, Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that the powers granted to INEC under Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act do not include fixing timelines for political parties to conduct primaries.
The judge said, “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.”
Justice Umar further held that INEC could not lawfully shorten the statutory period allowed for the submission of candidates’ particulars by political parties.
Reacting to the judgment on Friday, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the commission would first examine the court ruling before deciding on its next step.
“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 need to study the whole judgment and decide on the next step to take.”
