The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a review of the Supreme Court judgment upholding key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, amid concerns over the eligibility of some candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday at the commission’s World Press Conference in Abuja.
Amupitan said the commission had received complaints from political parties, aggrieved aspirants and members of the National Assembly over the implications of the Supreme Court judgment in the case involving INEC and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The Supreme Court, in its judgment delivered on September 24, 2026, upheld the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 and affirmed INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 elections.
According to the INEC chairman, the commission only received the certified true copy of the judgment on Tuesday and had commenced studying its contents before deciding on the appropriate steps.
“We have recently received complaints from some political parties, aggrieved aspirants, and even from the National Assembly, drawing our attention to the recent Supreme Court decision in INEC and Zenith Labour Party, delivered on the 24th day of September, 2026, affirming the constitutionality of Section 77, subsections 5 to 7 of the Electoral Act, 2026, and also upholding our revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general election.
“We only received the certified true copy of this judgment this morning, and it is being reviewed,” Amupitan said.
The development has triggered renewed questions over the status of candidates who defected from their former political parties after nomination exercises had either been conducted or commenced.
Among those whose nominations have come under scrutiny in the wake of the Supreme Court judgment are the Rivers State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kingsley Chinda; Delta Central senatorial candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Ovie Omo-Agege; former Cross River State governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke; and former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Victor Ochei.
The implications of the judgment for the affected candidates are expected to become clearer after INEC concludes its review of the certified judgment and determines how the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act apply to the various nomination and defection cases.
For now, the commission has not announced any final decision on the status of the affected candidates.
