The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) challenging provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to the qualification and disqualification of candidates seeking elective offices.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Muhammed Umar ruled that the suit lacked merit, holding that the disputed sections of the Electoral Act complement, rather than contradict, the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
The case, marked **FHC/ABJ/CS/635/2025**, named the Attorney General of the Federation, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.
The NDC had asked the court to declare Sections 138 and 77(5) of the Electoral Act 2026 unconstitutional and sought a ruling allowing issues relating to the qualification of candidates to be challenged after elections.
However, the court upheld preliminary objections, stating that the suit merely sought the interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions and did not qualify as a pre-election matter simply because INEC’s election timetable was attached to the originating summons.
Justice Umar also struck out the case against the Clerk of the National Assembly, ruling that the plaintiff failed to serve the mandatory pre-action notice before filing the suit.
On the substantive issues, the judge held that while the Constitution sets out the qualifications and disqualifications for elective offices, the Electoral Act only provides the procedure and timeline for challenging the outcome of party primaries.
The court further ruled that Section 138 of the Electoral Act is consistent with the Constitution and dismissed the request to invalidate Section 77(5), noting that the Court of Appeal had already settled the issue in an earlier judgment.
Justice Umar stressed that lower courts are bound by established judicial precedent.
