…Sets aside Federal High Court judgment that nullified them_
The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has upheld the 2027 election guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, ruling that they are valid for use.
The appellate court on Thursday set aside the May 20 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja which had nullified the guidelines and stopped their implementation.
Delivering a unanimous judgment, the court held that the Youth Party, YP, which challenged the guidelines, lacked the legal right to institute the case.
In the lead judgment written by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, the court said the YP failed to show how the guidelines affected it or its members in conducting primaries and submitting candidates for the 2027 elections.
The panel of three justices agreed that the Federal High Court judge, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, erred when he nullified the guidelines on the ground that they violated the Electoral Act, 2026. The Appeal Court described the decision as a miscarriage of justice.
INEC had appealed the ruling through its counsel, Alex Izinyon, SAN. The commission argued that the lower court ignored key legal issues and denied fair hearing.
Izinyon told the court that the Electoral Act, 2026 only requires political parties to notify INEC 21 days before primaries and to submit candidates’ names not later than 120 days to the general election. He said the Act does not empower INEC to fix a specific date for parties to hold primaries.
With the Appeal Court’s decision, INEC is now free to implement its 2027 election guidelines.
