The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to audit all candidates submitted by political parties for the 2027 elections and disqualify those whose names are missing from their parties’ membership registers.
The committee said the move had become necessary following the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 on party membership registers and candidate nomination.
In a letter to INEC, the committee chairman, Bayo Balogun, urged the commission to enforce Section 77(4) to (6) of the Electoral Act across all registered political parties.
Section 77(5) provides that only members whose names appear in a party’s register submitted to INEC are eligible to vote or be voted for at the party’s primaries, congresses and conventions.
The committee recalled that INEC had, in a July 26, 2026 response, expressed concerns over pending legal proceedings and conflicting judicial pronouncements on the interpretation and enforcement of Section 77.
It said that position was understandable at the time because administrative action could have been affected by a final court decision.
However, the committee said the Supreme Court had now settled the constitutional dispute by restoring the provisions earlier struck down by the Court of Appeal.
The committee therefore urged INEC to act “without delay” and ensure that political parties comply with the law in their preparations for the 2027 elections.
It said the commission should verify the names of candidates against the membership registers submitted by their parties and take action against any party or candidate found to be in breach.
The committee described the exercise as a test of INEC’s enforcement of the Electoral Act, warning that compliance could help prevent a fresh wave of election-related litigation.
The Supreme Court had on September 24 restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 after setting aside the Court of Appeal judgment that had declared the provisions unconstitutional.
However, a report of the Supreme Court judgment indicates that Section 77 does not automatically disqualify an individual candidate; rather, its consequences may apply to a political party’s eligibility to field candidates where the statutory requirements are not met.
The committee’s demand therefore places the responsibility on INEC to determine how the restored provisions should be applied to candidates and parties ahead of the 2027 polls.
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