The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) seeking to nullify Sections 138 and 77(5) of the Electoral Act 2026, ruling that the provisions are consistent with the 1999 Constitution.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Mohammed Umar held that the case lacked merit and upheld preliminary objections challenging its competence.
The NDC, which was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on February 5, had instituted the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/635/2026, naming the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and INEC as defendants.
The party argued that Sections 138 and 77(5) of the Electoral Act, recently enacted by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, were inconsistent with several provisions of the Constitution relating to candidates’ qualifications and freedom of association.
However, Justice Umar ruled that the contested provisions complement rather than conflict with the Constitution.
According to the judge, the suit merely sought the court’s interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions, adding that attaching INEC’s election timetable to the originating summons did not make it a pre-election matter.
He also struck out the case against the Clerk of the National Assembly after holding that the plaintiff failed to serve the mandatory pre-action notice before commencing the suit.
On the substantive issues, Justice Umar held that while the Constitution prescribes qualifications and disqualifications for elective offices, Section 138 of the Electoral Act only provides the procedure and timeline for challenging the outcome of party primaries.
He ruled that any aggrieved aspirant seeking to contest a candidate’s qualification must do so during the pre-election stage, describing the NDC’s claim that Section 138 contradicts the Constitution as lacking merit.
The court also declined to invalidate Section 77(5), noting that the Court of Appeal had already ruled on the provision and that lower courts are bound by established judicial precedent.
The NDC had sought an order directing the defendants to amend the Electoral Act to restore qualification as a ground for challenging the election of candidates to offices including president, governor, senator and members of the National Assembly and state assemblies.
It also argued that Section 77(5) infringed on constitutional rights to freedom of association by limiting the ability of politicians dissatisfied with party primaries to defect to other political parties before elections.
In response, INEC maintained that the Electoral Act 2026 was validly enacted in line with constitutional provisions and argued that the law does not violate citizens’ rights to belong to political parties of their choice.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and the Clerk of the National Assembly also defended the legislation, insisting that the Electoral Act strengthens rather than contradicts constitutional provisions governing Nigeria’s electoral process.
With the judgment, the Federal High Court affirmed the validity of the disputed sections of the Electoral Act 2026 and dismissed the NDC’s suit in its entirety.
