The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify candidates whose names are not contained in the registers of the political parties that nominated them. The committee said the directive was in line with a recent Supreme Court judgment on Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2026. In a letter to INEC, Chairman of the committee, Bayo Balogun, drew the commission’s attention to Section 77 and urged it to enforce the provision across all registered political parties.
The committee referred to an earlier response from INEC dated July 26, 2026, and signed by the Secretary to the Commission, in which the electoral body had raised concerns about judicial pronouncements and pending cases concerning the interpretation and enforceability of Section 77. According to the lawmakers, INEC’s position at the time was understandable because the commission had sought to avoid taking administrative measures that could subsequently be affected by a final court ruling.
However, the committee said the legal position had now changed following the Supreme Court’s judgment. The lawmakers said the apex court had ruled on the constitutionality of Section 77(5), which provides that only members whose names appear in a political party’s register are eligible to vote or be voted for at its primaries, congresses and conventions. “With the Supreme Court judgment, the provision no longer operates in uncertainty,” the committee said.
It therefore urged INEC to proceed without delay with the full enforcement of Section 77(4) to (6) in monitoring the activities of political parties. The committee specifically asked the commission to audit the candidates presented by all political parties for the 2027 general election and verify that their names are contained in the party registers previously submitted to INEC, as required by Section 77(5).
It described the exercise as a “litmus test” for the commission, warning that any political party or candidate found to be in breach of the law should be disqualified. The committee said strict enforcement would also help prevent a fresh wave of litigation over non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
