The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) guidelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, setting aside an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court that nullified the provisions and restrained their implementation.

In a unanimous judgment, the appellate court voided the May 20 ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had invalidated the guidelines and barred their enforcement.

In the lead judgment, prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, the Court of Appeal held that the Youth Party (YP), which instituted the suit against INEC, lacked the requisite legal standing (locus standi) to challenge the guidelines.

Justice Banjoko held that the party failed to demonstrate how the guidelines adversely affected either the conduct of its primary elections for the nomination of candidates for the 2027 general elections or its members.

The court further held that the YP did not establish how the guidelines affected the submission of its nominated candidates to INEC.

The three-member panel unanimously agreed that Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, erred in law when he nullified the guidelines on the grounds that they violated provisions of the Electoral Act, holding that the decision occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

INEC, which appealed the lower court’s judgment, argued that the Federal High Court erred by failing to determine its objection that the suit was hypothetical and academic, thereby denying the commission a fair hearing.

Represented by its lead counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), INEC urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment that invalidated portions of the election guidelines issued for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

The Federal High Court had invalidated INEC’s timetable for the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In the judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, the court also nullified INEC’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit their membership registers and databases as a prerequisite for participating in the general elections.

The court held that the timeframe prescribed by the electoral commission for political parties to conduct their primaries and to submit, withdraw, or replace the names and particulars of their candidates for the general elections was “inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”

However, in its appeal dated May 25, 2026, filed through Dr. Izinyon (SAN), INEC urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and stay its execution.

The electoral commission raised nine grounds of appeal, insisting that the Federal High Court’s decision was legally unsustainable.