The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the National Democratic Congress challenging key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to the qualification and disqualification of candidates for elective offices.
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Delivering judgment on Tuesday in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/635/2025, Justice Muhammed Umar held that the action lacked merit, ruling that the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act complement, rather than conflict with, the 1999 Constitution.
The NDC had instituted the suit against the Attorney General of the Federation, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Independent National Electoral Commission, seeking declarations that Sections 138 and 77(5) of the Electoral Act 2026 were unconstitutional.
The party also urged the court to hold that questions relating to the qualification of candidates could still be raised after elections.
Justice Umar, however, upheld the preliminary objections challenging the competence of the suit, holding that the plaintiff merely invited the court to interpret constitutional and statutory provisions.
“The plaintiff is invoking the interpretative jurisdiction of this honourable court in respect of the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 on the one hand and the 1999 Constitution on the other hand,” the judge held.
He further ruled that the mere attachment of INEC’s election timetable to the originating summons did not transform the matter into a pre-election case.
“The fact that the defendant’s timetable is attached cannot make the case within the contemplation of Section 285… there is no deposition… that raises questions as to the timetable,” the court held.
On the objection raised by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Justice Umar found that the plaintiff failed to comply with the statutory requirement of serving a pre-action notice before commencing the action.
He held that the failure to serve the mandatory notice rendered the suit incompetent against the Clerk of the National Assembly and accordingly struck out the case against the second defendant.
On the substantive issues, the court rejected the NDC’s argument that Section 138 of the Electoral Act was inconsistent with the constitutional provisions governing qualification and disqualification for elective offices.
Justice Umar held that while the Constitution prescribes the qualifications and disqualifications for elective offices, the Electoral Act merely provides the procedure and timelines for challenging disputes arising from party primaries.
“Any aggrieved party who intends to challenge any candidate that emerged at the primary election of a political party on grounds of disqualification… must do so at the pre-election level,” the judge ruled.
He added that when read together with other provisions of the Electoral Act, Section 138 complements the Constitution and does not conflict with it.
“The provision of Section 138 of the Electoral Act 2026 complements the provision of the Constitution, but is not in conflict with it. The contention of the plaintiff that Section 138 is inconsistent with the Constitution is of no merit,” Justice Umar held.
The court also declined to invalidate Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act, holding that the issue had already been settled by the Court of Appeal.
According to the judge, the appellate court had previously pronounced on the provision, making its decision binding on lower courts under the doctrine of judicial precedent.
Having found no merit in the claims, the court dismissed the suit in its entirety, affirming the validity of the challenged provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
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