THE restoration of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) 2027 election timetable by the Court of Appeal has thrown many political parties into uncertainty, with some now facing a race against time after allegedly slowing down preparations based on an earlier judgment that suspended parts of the electoral calendar.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has validated INEC’s guidelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, effectively restoring the electoral commission’s timetable for critical activities, including party primaries, candidate nomination processes and other pre-election requirements.
The development has placed several political parties under pressure, particularly those that had relied on the earlier Federal High Court judgment to assume they had additional time to complete internal arrangements, consultations, alliances and nomination strategies ahead of the polls.
With the original INEC schedule now back in force, parties that delayed preparations may be forced to accelerate their activities to avoid being caught unprepared for the approaching election cycle.
The ruling could expose weaknesses in the readiness of some political platforms, especially those yet to conclude their internal structures, resolve leadership issues or finalise strategies for the 2027 elections. The limited window now available may affect their ability to effectively organise and compete.
In a unanimous judgment, the appellate court set aside the May 20 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had nullified parts of INEC’s election guidelines and stopped their implementation.
The lead judgment, prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and delivered by Justice Okon Abang, held that the Youth Party (YP), which instituted the suit against INEC, lacked the legal standing to challenge the commission’s guidelines.
Justice Banjoko ruled that the party failed to demonstrate how the guidelines affected its members or interfered with its ability to conduct primaries and nominate candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The court also held that YP did not establish how the guidelines affected the submission of its nominated candidates to INEC, adding that the suit was not supported by sufficient legal grounds.
The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal further ruled that Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court erred when he invalidated the INEC guidelines, describing the decision as one that resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
INEC had challenged the Federal High Court judgment, arguing that the lower court failed to address key jurisdictional issues and wrongly entertained what it described as a hypothetical and academic suit.
Through its lead counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, the electoral body urged the appellate court to overturn the judgment that nullified parts of the guidelines issued for the conduct of the 2027 elections.
The Federal High Court had earlier invalidated INEC’s timeline for political parties to conduct primaries, submit candidate lists and make changes to nominations ahead of the general elections.
Justice Umar had also set aside INEC’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit their membership registers and databases as a condition for participation in the elections.
The court had ruled that the timeline issued by INEC for primaries, submission, withdrawal and replacement of candidates was inconsistent with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
However, INEC, in its appeal filed on May 25, 2026, raised nine grounds of appeal and asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment, while also seeking a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal.
The appellate court’s decision now restores the electoral timetable and places political parties under renewed pressure to align their preparations with INEC’s approved schedule.