Barely four months after the Independent National Electoral Commission unveiled its revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections, the electoral body has become embroiled in a wave of litigation that could reshape the country’s next electoral cycle.

Under the timetable released on February 26, political parties were required to submit their membership registers between March 24 and April 25, conclude their primaries by May 31, while the nomination portal for presidential and National Assembly candidates opened on June 27 and is scheduled to close on July 11.

Governorship and House of Assembly nomination forms are to be submitted between July 18 and August 8, while campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections are expected to commence on August 19.

INEC is scheduled to publish the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates on September 12, ahead of the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, 2027, and the governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls on February 6, 2027.

However, even as those milestones unfold, at least six major cases involving INEC are pending before the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, challenging the commission’s powers, the validity of its election timetable and the legal status of some political parties.

The outcome of the cases is expected to determine not only the extent of INEC’s administrative powers under the Electoral Act but also which political parties eventually participate in the 2027 polls.

  1. Youth Party challenges INEC’s timetable

The most significant of the suits is FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026, filed by the Youth Party against INEC before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The party challenged key provisions of INEC’s revised timetable, arguing that the commission lacked the legal authority to prescribe timelines that allegedly curtailed periods expressly guaranteed under the Electoral Act.

The suit specifically questioned deadlines relating to the submission of party membership registers, conduct of party primaries, submission of nomination forms, withdrawal and substitution of candidates, and publication of candidates’ particulars. It sought declarations that the disputed provisions were unlawful and orders restraining INEC from enforcing them.

In its judgment, the Federal High Court held that although INEC has constitutional powers to organise elections and issue guidelines, those powers cannot override or abridge timelines expressly prescribed by the Electoral Act. The court consequently nullified the portions of the revised timetable found to be inconsistent with the Act and restrained the commission from implementing them.

Dissatisfied with the decision, INEC appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial court wrongly curtailed its constitutional and statutory powers to regulate electoral activities.

According to the commission, the election timetable is an integrated programme in which every stage—from submission of membership registers and conduct of primaries to nomination of candidates, campaigns and publication of final lists—is interconnected. It argued that removing isolated timelines would create uncertainty and disrupt preparations for the 2027 elections.

The appeal has been argued before the Court of Appeal, which has reserved judgment. A date for the judgment is yet to be announced.