ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria, nullified the timelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of party primaries and candidate nominations for the 2027 general election on May 20, 2026.
Okay News reports that Justice Mohammed Umar set aside the commission’s May 10, 2026, deadline requiring political parties to submit a register and database of members as a condition to participate in the general elections.
The judgment followed a lawsuit brought by the Youth Party under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016 to compel the commission to comply with the pre-election deadlines specified in the Electoral Act, 2026. Umar ruled that the electoral body cannot lawfully abridge or limit statutory periods by prescribing shorter timeframes, noting that Section 29(1) of the law requires candidate particulars to be submitted not later than 120 days before an election.
The court held that under Section 31 of the Act, which allows political parties to withdraw and substitute candidates not later than 90 days before an election, the commission lacks the power to fix earlier deadlines. The ruling also stated that Section 32 prevents the publication of the final candidate list before a 60 day minimum period prescribed by law, while Section 98 does not grant authority to end campaigns two days before elections.
The certified true copy of the judgment was made available on May 21, 2026. Following the release of the document, the Coalition of United Political Parties requested that the commission adjust its revised timetable to comply with the court order.
The acting national chairman of the Coalition of United Political Parties, Chief Peter Ameh, stated that the electoral body must review its schedule. “We commend the Federal High Court for this progressive and constitution-aligned judgment. INEC must immediately obey this ruling and adjust its timetable accordingly,” Ameh said.
Ameh added that no fewer than 14 political parties resolved to extend their internal election schedules to accommodate new members. A former presidential candidate, Gbenga Hashim, also issued a statement on May 21, 2026, noting that he had previously sent an open letter to Nigeria’s President, Ahmed Tinubu, regarding the commission’s guidelines. “I have consistently argued that INEC must act within the confines of the Electoral Act. Unfortunately, those warnings were not heeded,” Hashim said.
