The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enforce a Supreme Court judgment on political parties’ membership registers ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The party’s National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, made the call in a letter to the INEC Chairman, seeking the implementation of the judgment delivered on September 24, 2026, in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Suit No. SC/CV/495/2026.
The APC said the judgment affirmed the validity of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, which sets out requirements for submitting and using political parties’ membership registers for primaries, congresses and conventions.
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It called on INEC to verify whether political parties had submitted their digital membership registers within the legally prescribed period and apply the consequences provided by law where violations are established.
Under Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, political parties must submit their membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before their primaries, congresses or conventions.
Section 77(5) provides that only members listed in the submitted registers are eligible to vote or be voted for during these exercises, while Section 77(6) prohibits the use of alternative registers for those purposes.
According to the APC, the Supreme Court clarified that failure to submit a digital membership register within the stipulated period could prevent a political party from fielding candidates in a general election, subject to the applicable statutory conditions.
The party said the judgment reinforced the mandatory nature of the provisions and their role in promoting internal democracy, transparency and credible party primaries.
It also cited Section 228(a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which empowers the National Assembly to enact laws prescribing guidelines for ensuring internal democracy within political parties.
The APC further referenced the Supreme Court’s reliance on Ardo v. Nyako (2014) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1416) 591, a case affirming the legislature’s authority to regulate party primaries, congresses and conventions.
The party maintained that while political parties have the power to nominate candidates for elections, they must exercise that power in accordance with statutory requirements.
It added that the Supreme Court had observed that INEC provided political parties with sufficient time to submit their digital membership registers under Section 77(4), arguing that there was no justification for disregarding the deadline.
The APC also invoked Section 287(1) of the Constitution, which provides for the enforcement of Supreme Court decisions throughout the federation by all authorities, persons and subordinate courts.
It noted that INEC was a party to the case and had participated in the proceedings as the appellant, arguing that the commission was bound by the judgment.
The party consequently urged INEC to verify compliance with the statutory deadline, enforce the ruling and apply the prescribed legal consequences where non-compliance is established.
It also called on the commission to ensure that only members listed in duly submitted registers are recognised as eligible to vote or be voted for during party primaries, congresses and conventions.
The APC insisted that compliance with Section 77 was a legal obligation, warning that failure to enforce the requirements could undermine internal democracy, electoral transparency and the rule of law ahead of the 2027 elections.
