INEC Speaks on When It'll Decide on Implications of Supreme Court Judgment on Candidates' Nomination

• INEC national commissioner Mohammed Haruna confirmed the commission will hold a meeting next week to review the September 24 Supreme Court judgment
• Haruna warned that some political parties may be barred from fielding candidates, including governorship candidates, over membership register violations
• The Supreme Court restored sections of the Electoral Act 2026 requiring parties to submit membership registers at least 21 days before primaries

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policies and international affairs.

FCT, Abuja - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will hold an internal meeting next week to decide what action to take following the September Supreme Court judgment that restored key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, with significant consequences for political parties seeking to contest the 2027 general elections.

Mohammed Haruna, INEC national commissioner for information and voter education, made the disclosure on Thursday, October 8, during an interview on Trust Television's Daily Politics programme, acknowledging that the ruling had triggered widespread anxiety among candidates and the general public.

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Haruna said:

"Definitely, we will meet next week to take a decision on it. I know a lot of people are anxious, not just the candidates themselves; even the public is anxious.

"The Supreme Court has strengthened our hands and said we were right to have insisted that any party that wants to contest must submit the list of its membership three weeks before their primaries. So, we really need to sit down and look at it. By next week, we will do that and take a decision."

2027 election: Parties may lose right to field candidates

When asked whether parties could be allowed to change their candidates or submit new names in response to the ruling, Haruna was direct.

"It's too late to do anything. The parties won't even be able to contest. It's like you committed an offence and you want to come and benefit," he said.

He pointed to earlier cases in Zamfara and Plateau states as precedents, noting that parties which failed to comply with electoral law were denied the opportunity to benefit from the process. He added that, depending on the commission's review of the law, some parties could be left without governorship candidates entirely.

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A seven-member Supreme Court panel upheld an appeal by INEC and restored sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 in a lead judgement delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro. The Court of Appeal had previously voided these provisions in July, but the apex court ruled they were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.

2027 election: What the restored provisions require

Under the restored provisions, section 77(5) of the Electoral Act requires that only party members whose names appear in a register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary, congress or convention may take part in the exercise. Section 77(6) bars any party from using a membership register different from the one it submitted to the Commission. Section 77(7) goes further, stipulating that a party which fails to submit its register within the required timeframe cannot field a candidate for the election.

While the judgment does not name or disqualify any specific candidate for the 2027 elections, the restored provisions open the door to legal challenges against any party's nomination process where compliance is disputed.

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MURIC, SCSN demand sack of INEC boss

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) called for the immediate sack of the INEC chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan.

The executive director of the Islamic group, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, posited that Amupitan cannot be trusted.

Similarly, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to review Amupitan’s appointment.

Source: Legit.ng