By Ayomide Otitoju
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) guidelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, setting aside an earlier Federal High Court judgment that nullified the regulations.
In a unanimous judgment, the appellate court overturned the May 20 decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had invalidated the guidelines and restrained INEC from implementing them.
The lead judgment, prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, held that the Youth Party (YP), which challenged the guidelines, lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to institute the suit.
Justice Banjoko ruled that the party failed to demonstrate how the guidelines adversely affected its members or its conduct of primary elections for the nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 polls.
The court also found that the Youth Party did not establish how the guidelines impacted the submission of its nominated candidates to INEC.
The three-member panel unanimously held that the Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, erred in law by nullifying the guidelines, describing the decision as one that resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
INEC had appealed the judgment, arguing that the lower court failed to determine its objection that the suit was hypothetical and academic, and that the commission was denied a fair hearing.
Represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Izinyon, INEC urged the appellate court to overturn the ruling that invalidated parts of its election guidelines for the 2027 general elections.
The Federal High Court had earlier nullified INEC’s timetable for the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates, as well as the commission’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit their membership registers and databases as a condition for participating in the elections.
Justice Umar had ruled that the timelines issued by INEC were inconsistent with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
However, the Court of Appeal upheld INEC’s appeal, validating the commission’s guidelines and restoring its timetable for preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
