The Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria has gone to the Court of Appeal to challenge a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that nullified part of its 2027 general election timetable. The move puts the election body back in a legal fight over whether it can set deadlines and guidelines for political parties before the next general election.
The appeal matters now because the timetable sits at the center of how parties prepare for the 2027 vote. The dispute began after the Federal High Court, Abuja, on May 22 set aside part of the timetable INEC had published, a decision now under review in a case that could shape how far the commission can go in directing political parties nationwide.
Court documents seen by News Pidgin showed that the Youth Party took the matter to court. In the appeal filed by Alex Izinyon, INEC listed nine grounds of appeal and more than 60 particular errors it said Justice Mohammed Umar made when he delivered the judgment. Izinyon said the judgment was against the weight of evidence placed before the court, and he argued that the trial judge had only made findings on the issue of locus standi.
INEC said the lower court denied it fair hearing by refusing to rule on one of the preliminary objections it raised during the trial. It also argued that the Youth Party had no locus standi to bring the case, describing the suit as hypothetical and academic because the party did not show any particular injury from the revised timetable. Those arguments go to the heart of who can challenge election planning before a vote even begins.
At the center of the fight is the legal power of the commission itself. Justice Umar held that INEC lacked authority to issue deadlines to political parties or impose conditions that did not match the Electoral Act. INEC, however, says the trial court misread sections 29, 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act 2026, and failed to apply section 151, which it says requires the commission to issue regulations, guidelines and manuals for elections.
Izinyon also argued that the revised 2027 general election timetable was not meant to impose deadlines, but to provide a period allowed under the Electoral Act. He said the revised timetable is a precise guideline and regulation that section 151 gives INEC power to make. The commission has maintained that both the constitution and the Electoral Act give it authority to set the timetable for the 2027 general election.
The next step is now with the Court of Appeal, which will decide whether to let the High Court ruling stand or set it aside. For parties planning ahead of 2027, that answer will determine whether INEC can keep writing the rules that govern their preparation, or whether the court has drawn a line around the commission’s timetable powers.
