There is anxiety in political parties and camps of candidates who picked tickets after losing the primaries of their former parties earlier in the year.
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, reserved judgement in the appeal brought before it by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, against a Court of Appeal judgment voiding provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 dealing with political party primaries and membership registers.
The appeal, marked SC/CR/495/2026, arose from a suit filed by the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging provisions of the Electoral Act, which the party argued were inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
A seven-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Adamu Jauro, reserved judgment after hearing arguments from the parties.
The original suit, marked FHC/ABJ/509/2026, was filed by the ZLP against the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
The Federal High Court, Abuja Division, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, dismissed the party’s action in a judgment delivered on May 5, 2026.
The ZLP subsequently appealed the decision, leading to the Court of Appeal judgment that voided the disputed provisions and prompted INEC to approach the Supreme Court.
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal in a judgment led by Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, partially allowed the ZLP’s appeal and voided parts of the Electoral Act concerning party membership registers and primaries.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court’s decision, INEC appealed to the apex court.
A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, heard arguments from INEC’s counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN and ZLP’s counsel, Ikechukwu Anyalewechhi, before reserving final judgment for a later date.
The legal dispute centers on the interpretation of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party administration.
The section restricts voting in primaries, congresses, or conventions strictly to members whose names are submitted to INEC at least 21 days prior, and disqualifies parties that fail to submit registers on time.
Section 84(2): Dictates direct primaries or consensus as the mode of candidate nomination.
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