July 1 (THEWILL) — The fate of the timetable for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections now rests with the Court of Appeal after the Abuja Division of the appellate court, on Wednesday, reserved judgement in two appeals filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) challenging separate Federal High Court decisions that questioned the legality of the electoral schedule.
Justice Adebukola Bankole, who presided over the three-member panel, said a date for the judgement would be communicated to the parties after lawyers adopted their final arguments.
The appeals follow separate judgments delivered by two judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja following suits instituted by the Youth Party of Nigeria (YPN) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), both of which challenged the timetable and guidelines issued by INEC for the 2027 elections.
While Justice Mohammed Umar nullified the timetable after granting all the reliefs sought by the Youth Party, Justice James Omotosho delivered a split decision in the SDP’s suit, granting some reliefs in favour of the party while upholding others in favour of INEC. However, the commission appealed the aspects of the judgment it said curtailed its constitutional powers to fix timelines for electoral activities.
Arguing the appeals, INEC’s lead counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN), urged the appellate court to set aside the lower court decisions, insisting that the Constitution and the Electoral Act confer exclusive powers on the electoral body to organise, undertake and supervise elections, including determining the timetable for activities leading to the polls.
He argued that the trial courts failed to apply settled decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal affirming INEC’s constitutional authority to regulate pre-election activities.
Izinyon particularly faulted the interpretation placed on the provisions of the Electoral Act requiring certain electoral activities to be conducted “not later than 120 days” and “not more than 90 days” before an election.
According to him, the lower courts wrongly construed the provisions to mean that activities must fall on exact dates, instead of treating them as statutory limits within which INEC may exercise its discretion.
Describing the interpretation as “mechanical” and inconsistent with established judicial authorities, the senior advocate maintained that nothing in the law prevents INEC from scheduling political activities earlier than the minimum timelines prescribed.
He further argued that the respondents failed to establish any legal injury warranting the declaratory reliefs granted by the Federal High Court, noting that no evidence was presented to show that either political party had commenced primary elections or suffered prejudice as a result of the timetable.
“The trial court ought not to have granted declaratory relief in the absence of credible evidence showing any infringement of the respondents’ rights”, he submitted.
The appellate court also entertained a series of interlocutory applications arising from the Youth Party’s failure to file its respondent’s brief within the period stipulated under the Court of Appeal Practice Directions on pre-election matters.
INEC asked the court to foreclose the party from defending the appeal, arguing that the rules expressly prohibit any extension of time once the filing period expires.
Although the Youth Party subsequently sought leave to regularise its brief, INEC opposed the application, insisting that the court lacked the jurisdiction to extend the statutory timeline. The commission also argued that the respondent’s brief was incompetent because it exceeded the maximum page limit prescribed by the rules.
After hearing all applications and the substantive appeals, the panel reserved judgement, saying the date for delivery would be communicated to the parties.
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