A MASS exodus may be looming in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following a Federal High Court judgment nullifying the timelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
News Point Nigeria reports that Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that INEC’s guidelines imposed restrictive timeframes on political parties for the conduct of primaries and other pre-election activities, contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
According to the court, INEC lacked the statutory authority to fix or prescribe the timeframe within which political parties must conduct their primaries for the nomination of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026, was filed by the Youth Party against Independent National Electoral Commission as the sole defendant.
Reacting to the judgment, Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress, said the ruling vindicated the party’s strong objections to key aspects of INEC’s guidelines when they were initially issued.
According to the ADC, the party had specifically objected to the timelines concerning membership registration and the conduct of party primaries.
“The decision of the Court on these issues, including those that directly contradict the Constitution, is therefore a welcome vindication of our position,” the party stated.
The party further described the judgment as a positive development that promotes freedom of association, particularly because it removed what it called impediments placed on politicians seeking alternative political platforms to contest elections.
“We believed at the time that that particular restriction was designed to prevent people from leaving the ruling party, APC,” the ADC said.
“Now that the court has ruled against it, we are sure that, in the coming days, we will witness a mass exodus from the ruling party.”
