The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says political parties that fielded candidates whose names were not on their registers submitted to the commission will not be allowed to participate in the 2027 elections.
INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme on Wednesday evening.
Mr Haruna was reacting to the Supreme Court judgment affirming the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upholding INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.
He said affected political parties would not be allowed to substitute the candidates because they could not benefit from an offence committed by the parties.
Mr Haruna also said INEC would make a definite pronouncement on the Supreme Court judgment by Tuesday next week.
“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it.
“You remember cases that we had of some in Zamfara, you remember Plateau? The same thing. The parties, because they did the wrong thing, they thought they could now steal through the candidates.
“And the law was very clear. Once you do that kind of thing, you cannot benefit from it. You are benefiting from it if you are able to substitute a candidate,” he said.
He said, depending on when INEC concluded its review of the judgment, “some parties may not be able to finish with even governorship candidates.”
Mr Haruna said the requirement applied to candidates at all levels of the elections, including the state Houses of Assembly.
“All the candidates, all the way to the Houses of Assembly, we interviewed them. If their names are not on the party register, they were not members of the party at the time that they contested for those tickets,” he said.
The INEC commissioner acknowledged concerns among political parties and candidates over the possible consequences of the judgment.
He, however, said the commission was taking its time because it needed to obtain legal advice after receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgment.
“You can’t be too careful with these things because even when you see copies and they tell you it’s a CTC, it may be forged.
“We’ve seen instances where people have even gone, have the audacity to forge a Supreme Court judgment. So, we have to be very careful to make sure that when you took us, we did put a lot of pressure and we were able to get it yesterday [Tuesday],” he said.
Mr Haruna also expressed concern over the nature of political campaigns ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly the use of threats by political actors.
He said such threats were disturbing and should concern all stakeholders, including the ruling party.
“Those kind of things, even if it’s a minority, it’s a cause for concern, because nobody should be threatened at all.
“All those talks, they are not reassuring at all. There are things, there are talks, actions, that really is a cause for worry, not just for us, but it should be a cause of worry for everybody, including the ruling party,” he said.
The INEC commissioner also said the commission was working to secure the funds required to conduct the 2027 elections.
According to him, the commission no longer has the luxury of time as preparations for the elections gather pace.
