The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially filed a comprehensive appeal against the Federal High Court judgment that annulled key operational aspects of its revised guidelines and timelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
The legal counter-offensive follows a judicial verdict delivered last Wednesday by Justice Mohammed Umar, which declared certain regulatory timelines within INEC’s Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities inconsistent with the statutory provisions of the newly enacted Electoral Act 2026.
In a motion on notice filed by its lead external counsel, Chief Alex Izinyon (SAN), the apex electoral umpire is seeking an immediate order staying the execution of the trial court's judgment pending the definitive determination of the matter at the Court of Appeal.
Raising nine distinct grounds of appeal, INEC contended that the trial judge erred grievously in law by failing to rule on a critical preliminary jurisdictional objection asserting that the original suit was entirely hypothetical, academic, and lacking a live controversy.
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The commission further argued that the lower court adopted a dangerously restrictive interpretation of Sections 29(1), 82, and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandate political parties to submit their official lists of sponsored candidates not later than 120 days before a general election.
INEC maintained that it did not impose any arbitrary timeframe on political parties for conducting internal primaries, adding that the trial judge completely disregarded binding Supreme Court and Court of Appeal precedents—such as NDP v. INEC—which explicitly affirm the exclusive administrative powers of the commission to regulate election calendars under Section 151 of the Act.
Adding a dramatic twist to the ongoing litigation, the Youth Party (YP), which was recorded as the sole plaintiff in the original suit, has publicly denied ever authorizing its legal department or any external solicitor to institute the lawsuit against INEC.
#INEC #ElectoralAct2026 #2027Elections #AlexIzinyon #FederalHighCourt #YouthParty #ElectionTimetable #AppellateCourt
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