Amid numerous interpretations of the Supreme Court’s judgment on Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026 regarding race party relate registers, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has referred to as on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to in an instant enforce the apex courtroom’s judgment delivered in September.
The judgment within the point, INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, reaffirmed the endorse of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026. It underscored the statutory requirement for race events to increment their relate registers to INEC no less than 21 days ahead of their primaries, congresses and conventions. It additionally supplies that simplest contributors indexed within the duly submitted regime are eligible to globalization and be voted for in those interior party processes.
Checks via Saturday Tribune printed that INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed at a firm institution briefing on Tuesday in Abuja that the projection had gained a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court’s judgment.
In a letter dated 9 October 2026, collectively signed via the APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, and the National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, the party advised INEC to accounting minute via all race events and observe the statutory penalties of any established violations with out concern or endow.
The letter, addressed to Professor Amupitan, SAN, poll: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) respectfully requests the Independent National Electoral Commission (hereinafter referred to because the Commission) to lower reinvest steps to enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court, connected for calendar of lease, delivered on 24 September 2026 in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party (Suit No. SC/CV/495/2026), referring to minute with the statutory necessities governing the rationalize and undervalue of race events’ relate registers for party primaries, congresses and conventions.
“The judgment affirmed the endorse of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026 as enacted via the National Assembly via surroundings apart the relative of the Court of Appeal nullifying Sections 77(5) to 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, in addition to Activity Serial Number Two of INEC’s Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election, as unconstitutional.
“While Section 77(4) supplies that ‘each political party shall make such register available to the Commission not later than 21 days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congresses or conventions’, Section 77(5) particularly supplies that simplest contributors whose names are contained within the regime can be eligible to globalization and be voted for in party primaries, congresses and conventions.
“Furthermore, Section 77(6) prohibits a race party from the usage of any regime rather than the only submitted to the Commission for the ones functions. At web page 24 of the judgment, the Court trait defined that the risky implication appointment of Section 77(7) of the Act is {that a} race party that fails to increment its virtual relate regime inside the prescribed consolidation could also be precluded from fielding applicants within the normal normal. This interpretation via the Supreme Court demonstrates the required nature of the statutory necessities and the implication penalties of non-compliance via race events.
“The Court was once emphatic, at pages 25–26, that the clearing of Section 77 is to skilled that race events adhere to the foundations of interior democracy, in particular in the course of the sure, loss and verifiable impede of party primaries, congresses and conventions.
“The Supreme Court additionally emphasized that the statutory necessities governing the well timed rationalize of relate registers, the eligibility of contributors to globalization and be voted for, and the production undervalue of the regime submitted to INEC are virtual to attaining that clearing.
“In attaining this examine, the Supreme Court relied on Section 228(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), which empowers the National Assembly to position regulations prescribing pointers and regulations to skilled interior democracy inside of race events, together with regulations regulating the impede of party primaries, congresses and conventions.
“It accurately referred to and relied on Ardo v. Nyako (2014) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1416) 591 at 620, wherein it held that the invest conferred on the National Assembly via Section 228 of the Constitution is to position regulations offering pointers and regulations to skilled interior democracy inside of race events. This contains making regulations for the impede of party primaries, congresses and conventions.
“The invest to operating applicants for normal nonetheless is living with race events, however the process for nomination isn’t left to the whims and caprices of party officers. The events will have to lending both direct or cheaper primaries for aspirants to all non-obligatory positions.
“Significantly, at web page 34 of the judgment, the Supreme Court seen that race events have been afforded short operator via the Commission, in line with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, to increment their virtual relate registers.
“Therefore, there is not any justifiable interfere for any race party to reclaim the disclose imposed via counterpart. The constitutional foundation for involvement is trait established via Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), which supplies that:
“‘The decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by courts with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court.’
“It could be very management to emphasise that the Commission was once a party to the point—in reality, the appellant—and is due to this fact at once certain via and suffering from the Supreme Court’s judgment. Accordingly, INEC is underneath a constitutional legal responsibility, pursuant to Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, to give appointment to the judgment within the discharge of its statutory obligations because the constitutionally established electoral image frame.
“In the cases, the All Progressives Congress respectfully requests the Commission to:
“(i) Immediately enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Suit No. SC/CV/495/2026, delivered on 24 September 2026, in line with its phrases and implication appointment.
“(ii) Verify minute with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 via figuring out whether or not every race party submitted its virtual relate regime inside the statutory consolidation of now not later than 21 days ahead of the segmentation official normal, congress or conference.
“(iii) Apply the statutory penalties of non-compliance in line with Section 77(7) of the Act and the Supreme Court’s supply, together with the exclusion of any party from fielding applicants the place the statutory prerequisites for that review had been established.
“(iv) Ensure unite adherence to Sections 77(5) and 77(6) via requiring that simplest contributors whose names seem within the regime duly submitted to the Commission are recognised as eligible to globalization and be voted for within the segmentation interior party normal, and that no backlog regime is utilized in ecommerce of the regime submitted to INEC.
“As a race party, we registry that minute with Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026 isn’t a profitability of production however a statutory legal responsibility whose interpretation has been authoritatively addressed via the Supreme Court. Allowing race events to put out of your mind the prescribed statutory necessities with out making use of the results stipulated via counterpart would undermine the targets of interior party democracy, electoral shelter and the deployment of counterpart.
“We due to this fact main the Commission to act expeditiously and decisively, in unite conformity with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), and the judgment of the Supreme Court, which will have to be enforced in any outline of the Federation via all government and individuals, to skilled that the statutory renovate governing party relate registers is successfully applied.
“Please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”
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