Reactions have continued to trail last week’s ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja which nullified the directive of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), mandating political parties to submit their membership register by May 10, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In suit FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, the court held that while INEC can receive notices of primaries, monitor exercises, and collect candidate particulars, it cannot fix or prescribe the timetable for internal party contests.

The court’s verdict affected INEC's revised schedule for party primaries, candidate nominations, and related pre-election activities.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, in a telephone interview, the INEC Deputy Director, Publicity, Wilfred Osilama Ifogah, dropped the hint that it would take time for the Commission can take a position on the judgment.

He maintained that INEC’s stance would be revealed after it received a copy of the judgment.

When asked about how INEC would approach this judgment, he said, “The commission is yet to receive a copy of the ruling. So, it is when they probably get it, you will now know what the commission will say about it.

“They can’t act until they get it. For now, we are still waiting for it,” he said.

His position corroborated what INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said on Friday in a separate interview.

She said the commission had not yet received the full judgment and would not comment until it had studied the ruling.

Reacting to the development, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party would not alter its timetable despite the ruling of the court.

He restated that the verdict vindicated the position of the party that the guidelines contradicted the constitution.

The ADC spokesman said: “We have said that we welcome the judgment and that it is a vindication of our position. That the guidelines contradict the law and that it contradicts the constitution. It now creates opportunities and allows more flexibility. “But we are not likely to change our schedule because of that. Maybe that is a new perspective. We are not likely to change our timetable because of that. We expect that there will be movement among parties in coming days.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on its part, welcomed the court judgment, saying that rather than being panicky, it saw the development as giving political parties the opportunity to further strengthen their internal organisation.

The Tanimu Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (INWC), while reacting to the judgment, told the Nigerian Tribune that the Electoral Act, 2026, was flawed in several respects by breaching the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The party observed that INEC itself, in trying to apply the law to the electoral process, arrogated powers to itself that went beyond its bounds, such as shortening the timeframe for the submission of names of political party members and the conduct of primaries.

According to the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, what the court has done beefed up the confidence of the PDP to open up the space for more members to buy, submit forms and still participate in the remaining phases of the electioneering, rather than fearing that there will be an exodus of members to other platforms.

“So, there are certain parts of the Electoral Act that are an affront on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the interpretation, again, that INEC also tried to constrict the time more. I mean, the timetable was tight, and most political parties were complaining,” Ememobong stated.

So, for the PDP, it considers it as a breather, because we are already being pressured by people to extend time for forms, for submission, and the like.

So, it grants an opportunity for deeper and a large participation of people in the process. As on the condition that INEC does not appeal the judgment.

The party spokesman explained further, “The judgment gives political parties more time, if INEC doesn’t appeal that judgment; it gives political parties more time to organise their internal processes.

“We must appreciate the fact that when democracy is involved and when the choice of leaders is the question, then we must learn to hurry slowly, because the actions taken now will have effects in four, eight years.

For instance, the PDP argued that it was wrong to say that an individual could not register in two political associations, so long as they would not contest on the two platforms on the same date or day.

The party likened political parties to other social groups and religious bodies where an individual was guaranteed by the constitution to subscribe freely to anyone without inhibitions.

When contacted, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP led by Honourable Abdulrahman Mohammed said it would await a thorough legal analysis of the judgment by its legal department before speaking on the development.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), however, expressed strong reservations about the judgment.

A chieftain of the party who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, Ladipo Johnson, described the judgment as a Greek Gift that could instigate explosions within opposition parties.

He maintained that the judgment of Justice Umar should be viewed with extreme caution rather than celebration.

According to him, the dominant view among opposition stakeholders is that the ruling, though favourable on the surface, may create unintended political and legal consequences capable of destabilising internal party structures.

Johnson explained that many opposition parties have chosen to continue with the earlier May 10 timetable despite the court’s extension because of concerns over defections and the possibility of political infiltration.

He noted that opposition leaders are particularly worried that politicians who may lose primary elections within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) could exploit the extended period to defect to other parties and contest for tickets.

According to him, the fear is that such defections may not only alter existing political calculations but also trigger internal leadership disputes and weaken party cohesion.

“opposition leaders are viewing the extension as a Greek gift rather than an opportunity,” Johnson said. (Nigerian Tribune)

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