Political parties preparing for future primaries, congresses and conventions must submit their membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at least 21 days before the scheduled exercises, following the Supreme Court’s restoration of the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Oba Maduabuchi, said the requirement was among the provisions restored by the apex court in its September 24 judgment on the validity of sections 77 and 84 of the Electoral Act.
The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel, set aside the Court of Appeal judgment that had voided the provisions and restored the earlier Federal High Court decision. The restored provisions regulate party membership registers and the nomination of candidates.
Under Section 77, parties are required to make their membership registers available to INEC not later than 21 days before the date fixed for their primaries, congresses or conventions. Only members whose names appear on the submitted register are eligible to vote or be voted for in the exercises, while parties are barred from using a different register.
The law further provides that a party that fails to submit its register within the stipulated period will not be eligible to field a candidate for the election.
Maduabuchi, speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, said the requirement did not amount to interference in the internal affairs of political parties.
“If you don’t submit the register, you will not have candidates. We must interpret the decision of the Supreme Court vis-à-vis the provisions of the Constitution which gave INEC the power to organise, undertake and supervise elections,” he said.
He said political parties retained the responsibility of determining their members, while INEC required the registers to establish who was eligible to participate in their primaries.
“It does not determine who is a member of a political party. Determination of who is a member of a political party is in the hands of the political parties. But when you have decided who your members are, tell me who they are,” he said.
Maduabuchi also said parties remained free to determine how their candidates would emerge, provided they complied with the law.
The Supreme Court also restored Section 84(2), which provides that political parties shall nominate candidates through direct primaries or consensus.
On the possibility of the judgment affecting politicians who had already emerged from primaries, Maduabuchi said the circumstances surrounding each case would have to be examined, including the law applicable when the primary was conducted and the records submitted by the relevant party.
“The judgment takes effect the day the suit was filed. And what we are declaring is the law as it is today. What was the position of the law as it was when they took, when the primaries were conducted? That is the law you’re interpreting,” he said.
He declined to determine whether individual politicians, including Chinda and Peter Obi, would be affected by the ruling without access to their parties’ membership registers and the dates on which the registers were submitted to INEC.
“I cannot now get up and say Chinda is no longer [and] will not be on the ballot. The Kwara Central senatorial aspirant will not be on the ballot. Peter Obi, who left ADC for NDC, I can’t say that because I’ve not seen their registers,” he said.
Maduabuchi also rejected suggestions that the 21-day requirement was a new development, saying the provision had been part of the Electoral Act 2026 before the recent Supreme Court judgment.
“No, it is not. It is not sudden. The law was made and I think it was passed early this year, and everybody knew what the law was. That is why they even went to court to challenge it,” he said.
The Supreme Court’s ruling means the statutory requirements on membership registers and candidate nomination remain in force following the court’s decision that the disputed provisions were not inconsistent with the Constitution.
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