A lawyer and rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately comply with the recent Supreme Court decision on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 by removing from its portal the names of candidates affected by the ruling.
Adeyanju said the commission was constitutionally obligated to enforce the decision of the apex court, citing Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The Supreme Court had, on Thursday, upheld an appeal filed by INEC against a Court of Appeal judgment that had voided provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to political party primaries and membership registers.
The dispute arose from a suit filed by the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging provisions of the Electoral Act which it argued were inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
The Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, dismissed the suit in a judgment delivered on May 5, 2026.
Dissatisfied with the decision, ZLP appealed to the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/750/2026.
The Court of Appeal, in its judgment delivered on July 16, 2026, allowed the appeal in part and voided provisions relating to political party primaries and membership registers.
The decision prompted INEC to approach the Supreme Court, challenging the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of the disputed provisions.
The appeal, marked SC/CR/495/2026, was heard by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Adamu Jauro.
In its judgment on Thursday, the apex court set aside the Court of Appeal’s decision and upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in favour of INEC.
The Supreme Court also held that Sections 77(5) and 84 of the Electoral Act were not in conflict with the 1999 Constitution and awarded N2 million costs against ZLP.
The disputed provisions include Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) deal with statutory requirements relating to political parties’ membership registers, while Section 84(2) provides for direct primaries or consensus as methods of nominating candidates by political parties.
ZLP had argued that the provisions amounted to unconstitutional interference in the internal affairs of political parties and conflicted with constitutional provisions governing political parties, including Sections 221 and 222 of the 1999 Constitution.
In two other judgments, the Supreme Court also dismissed an appeal filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) against INEC, while it upheld INEC’s preliminary objection in an appeal filed by the Youth Party (YP).
The Youth Party’s appeal was struck out after the apex court found it incompetent, having been filed one day outside the stipulated time.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, Adeyanju called on INEC to immediately implement the judgment.
“In light of the recent decision of the Supreme Court on the Electoral Act, I call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately comply with the decision on the Electoral Act in line with Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which provides for the strict enforcement of the decisions of the Supreme Court by all authorities and persons,” he said.
Adeyanju specifically demanded that the commission remove from its official portal the names of candidates affected by the judgment.
“Accordingly, INEC must immediately remove from its official portal the names of all candidates of political parties affected by the judgment and take all necessary steps to ensure full compliance with the Court’s orders, without delay or selective implementation,” he said.
