A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) challenging key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, dealing a setback to the opposition party’s legal challenge.
Justice Muhammed Umar, who delivered the judgment on Tuesday, ruled that the suit lacked merit and upheld preliminary objections raised by the defendants.
NDC challenged candidate qualification provisions
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/635/2025, was filed against the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The NDC had asked the court to declare Sections 138 and 77(5) of the Electoral Act 2026 unconstitutional, arguing that issues relating to the qualification or disqualification of candidates should still be allowed after elections.
Court says Electoral Act complements Constitution
In his ruling, Justice Umar held that the Electoral Act does not conflict with the 1999 Constitution, but instead complements it by setting out procedures and timelines for resolving disputes arising from party primaries.
According to the judge, anyone seeking to challenge the qualification of a candidate must do so during the pre-election stage.
He ruled that the Constitution defines who is qualified or disqualified to contest elections, while the Electoral Act provides the legal process for raising such disputes.
Case not a pre-election matter
The judge also rejected the argument that the case qualified as a pre-election matter simply because INEC’s election timetable was attached to the court documents.
He said there was nothing before the court showing that the timetable itself was being challenged.
Suit against National Assembly Clerk struck out
Justice Umar further held that the NDC failed to comply with the legal requirement of serving a pre-action notice on the Clerk of the National Assembly before filing the suit.
As a result, the action against the Clerk was struck out for being incompetent.
Court upholds Section 77(5)
On Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act, the court declined the NDC’s request to invalidate the provision, noting that the Court of Appeal had already ruled on the issue.
Justice Umar said lower courts are bound by judicial precedent and therefore could not depart from the appellate court’s earlier decision.
With the ruling, the Federal High Court dismissed the NDC’s challenge and upheld the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
Court dismisses NDC suit challenging provisions of Electoral Act
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