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Summary: Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified key portions of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Elections.
On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Justice Mohammed Umar voided key portions of INEC’s revised timetable for the 2027 general elections in a suit filed by the Youth Party against INEC. The court ruled that the commission exceeded its powers by shortening timelines expressly provided under the Electoral Act, 2026.
The ruling covers INEC’s deadlines for party primaries, submission of candidates’ particulars, withdrawal and replacement of candidates, publication of final candidates’ lists, and campaign periods.
Justice Umar held that INEC lacked the statutory power 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 court also set aside INEC’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit a register and database of all their members as a condition for qualifying to participate in the general elections.
Justice Umar granted all six reliefs sought by the Youth Party and set aside the portions of INEC’s timetable inconsistent with the Electoral Act, 2026.
The court declared that under Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2026, political parties retain the right to withdraw and substitute candidates not later than 90 days before the conduct of an election. The court added that INEC cannot lawfully abridge that statutory period by fixing an earlier deadline in its timetable. It further declared that under Section 32 of the Act, INEC does not possess the statutory power to publish the final list of candidates before the 60-day minimum period prescribed by law.
