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The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court judgment that nullified key provisions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s guidelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, the three-member appellate panel held that the Youth Party, which filed the suit challenging the guidelines, lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to institute the action.
The lead judgment, prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, ruled that the party failed to show how the guidelines adversely affected its primary election process or the submission of candidates for the 2027 polls.
According to the court, the Youth Party did not establish any injury or infringement of its rights that would justify seeking judicial intervention.
The appellate court further faulted the May 20 judgment of Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, describing it as a miscarriage of justice.
Justice Umar had ruled that INEC lacked the constitutional and statutory authority to compel political parties to conduct their primaries within timelines fixed by the commission. He also invalidated provisions requiring parties to submit their membership registers and candidates' particulars ahead of the timelines stipulated in the Electoral Act 2026.
The lower court held that INEC could not lawfully abridge the statutory period provided under Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act or impose conditions outside the provisions of the law.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, INEC, through its counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon, appealed the judgment on May 25, arguing that the trial court failed to determine its preliminary objection that the suit was hypothetical and academic.
The commission also maintained that the Federal High Court misinterpreted Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026, insisting that while political parties are free to determine when to conduct their primaries, they must submit the outcome within the statutory deadline prescribed by law.
Allowing the appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the Federal High Court ought not to have interfered with INEC's administrative powers where there was no evidence that the Youth Party had been prevented from participating in the electoral process.
Justice Abang, while reading the judgment, stated that courts can only intervene where there is a real threat to a political party's participation in an election.
"The law gives INEC powers to conduct elections in the country," he said, adding that there was no evidence the respondent was hindered from conducting its primaries.
He stressed that the declaratory reliefs granted by the trial court were wrongly awarded and accordingly set them aside.
The judgment effectively restores the validity of INEC's guidelines for the 2027 general elections, reaffirming the electoral body's authority to issue administrative regulations for the conduct of elections within the framework of the Electoral Act.
