The African Democratic Congress and the Social Democratic Party have rejected the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission to appeal a Federal High Court judgment that nullified parts of the commission’s 2027 election timetable.
Reacting to the appeal, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party anticipated the move and therefore did not postpone its primaries.
“We expected it, and that was the reason we did not shift our primaries. We regarded the judgment as a booby trap in the first instance. However, our disposition to that judgment does not prejudice the fact that INEC is not doing the right thing,” Abdullahi said.
He added that the party would continue efforts to provide Nigerians with “a strong alternative government of their choice next year.”
Similarly, SDP National Secretary Olu Agunloye said INEC had the constitutional right to challenge the ruling but insisted the commission would “meet the whole of Nigeria in court.”
Agunloye accused the electoral body of allegedly acting “not for Nigerians, but in the interest of one individual.”
However, former spokesman for ex-INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, Rotimi Oyekanmi, defended the commission’s decision to appeal, arguing that the ruling questioned INEC’s constitutional powers.
Oyekanmi said the 1999 Constitution empowers INEC to organise, undertake and supervise elections into the offices of president, vice president, governors, deputy governors, and members of the National and state assemblies.
He added that the commission also has powers to register and deregister political parties and monitor their operations, including finances, conventions, congresses and primaries.
According to him, extensive consultations with political parties and stakeholders precede the release of any election timetable.
“Once the timetable is released, it becomes a legal document, and all the activities contained in it follow a sequence and timelines prescribed by extant laws,” Oyekanmi said.
He argued that any attempt to compel INEC to alter timelines in the 2027 election schedule carried constitutional and electoral implications, making the appeal necessary.
INEC asks Appeal Court to void judgment
INEC has asked the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal to overturn the Federal High Court judgment that nullified parts of its electoral guidelines for the 2027 general election.
In a motion attached to the appeal, the commission also sought an order staying the execution of the May 20 judgment pending the determination of the appeal.
Justice Muhammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja had nullified INEC’s directive requiring political parties to submit membership registers and databases by May 10 as a condition for participating in the 2027 elections.
The suit was filed by the Youth Party.
The court held that INEC could not lawfully shorten timelines already provided under Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 for the submission of party membership records and candidates’ particulars.
In its appeal dated May 25 and filed through counsel Alex Izinyon (SAN), INEC urged the appellate court to set aside the judgment and stay its execution.
The commission raised nine grounds of appeal, arguing that the trial court failed to rule on its objection that the suit was hypothetical and academic.
INEC also challenged the lower court’s interpretation of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026.
The commission maintained that the judgment was against the weight of evidence and asked the appellate court to strike out the suit on the grounds that the respondent lacked locus standi.
Defections loom after APC primaries
Meanwhile, political analysts say the fallout from the APC primaries could trigger a new wave of defections ahead of the 2027 elections.
Former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar Adamu resigned from the APC after failing to secure the party’s governorship ticket in Nasarawa State.
Adamu formally submitted his resignation letter to APC executives in Makama Ward, Lafia.
He said recent developments in the party, particularly the conduct of the governorship primary, influenced his decision to leave.
Similarly, Senator Shehu Buba Umar of Bauchi South resigned from the APC and joined the People’s Redemption Party after withdrawing from the APC governorship primary in Bauchi State.
Buba cited “absence of internal democracy, lack of fairness and marginalisation” within the ruling
