May 08, (THEWILL) — The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed May 25 for hearing in a suit instituted by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), challenging provisions of the newly enacted Electoral Act, 2026, which the party says are inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/635/2026, is before Justice Mohammed Umar and seeks the nullification of Sections 138 and 77(5) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The NDC, a political party registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission on February 5, instituted the action against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Clerk of the National Assembly, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and INEC as 1st to 4th defendants, respectively.
Justice Umar fixed the hearing date after the AGF failed to appear in court despite being served with the originating processes and hearing notice.
When the matter was called on Thursday, all parties were represented except the AGF.
Counsel to the plaintiff, Vincent Ottaokpukpu, informed the court that the AGF had been duly served but chose not to appear, a position confirmed by the court registrar.
The lawyer further disclosed that while the 2nd and 3rd defendants had filed memoranda of appearance, the plaintiff had already responded to the counter-affidavit and preliminary objection filed by INEC.
“We have responded by filing our further and better affidavit and a reply on point of law, and also, a counter affidavit and a reply on point of law to their notice of preliminary objection”, he said.
Counsel to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Charles Iyehela, and lawyer to the Senate President, B.A. Chukwuemeka, sought more time to file their respective counter-affidavits.
INEC’s counsel, Alex Iziyon, SAN, informed the court that the commission had already filed its reply on point of law to the plaintiff’s counter affidavit challenging its preliminary objection.
Following submissions by counsel, Justice Umar directed all parties to regularise and file all pending processes before the next adjourned date.
The judge also ordered that a fresh hearing notice be issued and served on the AGF before adjourning the matter until May 25 for a hearing.
In the substantive suit filed on March 27, the NDC is asking the court to strike down Section 138 of the Electoral Act, 2026, arguing that it is inconsistent with constitutional provisions relating to qualification and disqualification for elective offices.
The party contended that the section unlawfully removed “qualification” as a ground upon which election results can be challenged in respect of elections into the offices of president, governor, Senate, House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly.
The plaintiff is consequently seeking an order directing the AGF, National Assembly and Senate President to amend and re-enact the Electoral Act to restore qualification as a constitutional ground for questioning the return of candidates.
The NDC is also challenging Section 77(5) of the Act, which provides that only members whose names appear in a political party’s digital membership register transmitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary election or convention can participate in such primaries.
According to the party, the provision violates constitutional guarantees on freedom of association and political participation.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Ezechi Adaobi, a litigation secretary at V-C Ottaokpukpu & Associates, stated that the Constitution did not prescribe any minimum duration of political party membership before a person can contest elections.
Adaobi argued that politicians dissatisfied with the conduct of primaries in their parties often defect to other political platforms to enable them to participate in general elections, and that the new provision could unfairly restrict such political mobility.
However, INEC, in its counter-affidavit filed on April 27, defended the validity of the Electoral Act, 2026. The commission maintained that the law was validly enacted by the National Assembly and duly assented to by President Bola Tinubu in accordance with constitutional provisions.
INEC further argued that Section 77(5) does not infringe on citizens’ constitutional rights to belong to or participate in political parties.
The electoral body also stated that its timetable for party primaries, scheduled between April 23 and May 30, provides political parties with a 38-day window to conduct primaries and resolve disputes arising from them in compliance with the Electoral Act. It urged the court to dismiss the suit.
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