The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it will carefully review the Federal High Court judgment nullifying key aspects of its 2027 election timetable before deciding its next move.

The Commission’s position comes barely 24 hours after a Federal High Court in Abuja struck down parts of INEC’s revised schedule for party primaries, candidate nominations and related pre-election activities.

Speaking on to newsmen on Friday, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the electoral body would not rush into a response without first examining the full judgment.

“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.”

The court ruling followed a suit filed by the Youth Party against INEC, challenging the commission’s authority to impose timelines for party primaries and candidate nominations ahead of the 2027 general election.

In its revised timetable, INEC had directed political parties to submit membership registers by May 10, complete their primaries, and conclude candidate withdrawal and replacement processes before the end of May.

However, Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that the commission lacked the statutory power to shorten or alter timelines expressly provided under the Electoral Act 2026.

Delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, the court held that INEC’s responsibilities to receive notices of primaries, monitor the exercises and collect candidates’ particulars do not include fixing deadlines for political parties to conduct their internal contests.

“A declaration is hereby made that the powers of the defendant to receive notice of party primaries and 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,” the judge ruled.

The court further held that INEC could not lawfully reduce the statutory period granted to parties for submitting candidates’ particulars.

The judgment has introduced a fresh legal dimension into preparations for the 2027 elections, with political parties, legal observers and election stakeholders now watching closely for INEC’s response.

For now, the commission says its position will depend on a detailed review of the ruling and the legal reasoning behind the court’s decision. (The Sun)

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