2027 Primaries Face Fresh Legal Uncertainty as Supreme Court Restores Electoral Act Provisions
The Supreme Court has restored key Electoral Act provisions governing party membership registers and candidate nominations, triggering fresh questions over completed primaries, defecting politicians and the legal position of candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Supreme Court Restores the Rules
Nigeria’s 2027 electoral preparations are facing fresh legal questions following the Supreme Court’s restoration of four provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political-party membership registers and candidate nominations.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on September 24, a seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro allowed INEC’s appeal in the dispute involving the Zenith Labour Party, reversing the Court of Appeal’s July 16 decision that had declared Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) unconstitutional.
The restored provisions require political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC within the prescribed period and use those registers in conducting primaries. Section 84(2) addresses the use of direct primaries or consensus in selecting candidates.
The judgment has reopened questions about nomination processes ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly where politicians have defected between parties or emerged through substitution primaries.
Completed Primaries and the Risk of Litigation
The ruling has drawn attention to candidates including former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu, who emerged as the SDP governorship candidate in Nasarawa through a substitution primary, and Senator Saliu Mustapha, who defected from the APC to the PDP before securing the Kwara Central senatorial ticket.
However, the Supreme Court did not specifically disqualify these politicians or determine the validity of their individual nominations.
Senior Advocate Salman Jawondo told PUNCH that completed nominations are not automatically invalidated by the judgment. He argued that a challenge would require a properly instituted action by a person with the requisite legal standing and within the applicable statutory timeframe.
Other legal practitioners similarly emphasised that the Supreme Court did not make factual findings on individual candidates’ membership-register status, defection dates or compliance with primary-election procedures.
Gombe Shows How Quickly the Disputes Can Move
The legal uncertainty is already playing out in Gombe State.
On September 24, the Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the PDP primary that produced former Communications Minister Isa Pantami as the party’s governorship candidate and ordered a fresh primary within 30 days.
The dispute followed a challenge by fellow aspirant Usman Garry, with the court's decision addressing the primary through which Pantami emerged after defecting from the APC.
The PDP subsequently fixed September 29 for a fresh exercise, directing eligible delegates to participate. This is a separate court dispute and should not be treated as an automatic consequence of the Supreme Court's general interpretation of the Electoral Act.
As INEC and political parties work through the restored provisions, the central question is how statutory membership and nomination requirements will apply to individual cases without treating every completed primary as invalid. The next wave of litigation may determine where that boundary lies.
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