Fresh legal battles may be brewing over political party primaries ahead of the 2027 elections following the Supreme Court’s restoration of provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing party membership registers and candidate nominations.
The controversy follows Thursday’s unanimous judgment by the Supreme Court in appeal No. SC/CR/495/2026, in which the seven-member panel, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act.
While the judgment did not automatically invalidate nominations already concluded, it is not clear which provisions could apply to individual candidates and primaries, leaving the Independent National Electoral Commission with a major implementation question.
The provisions require parties to submit membership registers to INEC within the stipulated period and use the registers for their primaries, while Section 84(2) provides for direct primaries or consensus in the nomination of candidates.
The apex court’s decision reversed the July 16 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had declared the disputed provisions unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court had earlier heard INEC’s appeal on September 16 after the Federal High Court dismissed the challenge brought by the Zenith Labour Party.
But the judgment has raised questions over the fate of primaries already conducted, particularly where candidates had defected from one party to another before securing tickets.
Among those whose nomination processes could attract scrutiny are former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, who emerged as the Social Democratic Party governorship candidate in Nasarawa State through a substitution primary; former House of Representatives Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, who emerged as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Rivers State; and Senator Saliu Mustapha, who defected from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party before picking the PDP senatorial ticket for Kwara Central.
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, is also at the centre of a separate legal dispute after a Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the PDP primary that produced him and ordered the party to conduct a fresh exercise.
None of the candidates was specifically disqualified by the Supreme Court Already, the PDP has fixed September 29, for the conduct of a fresh governorship primary election in Gombe State following the nullification of its May 26, 2026, primary by the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe.
The court, on September 24, 2026, nullified the earlier primary, which produced Pantami and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh exercise within 30 days.
Pantami emerged from the earlier primary through voice affirmation after defecting from the All Progressives Congress to the PDP. His emergence was challenged by another PDP governorship aspirant, Usman Garry.
The PDP Public Relations Officer in the state, Abdulkadir Dukku, said the party had directed all eligible delegates to assemble at their respective ward areas for the fresh primary.
Dukku said, “All eligible delegates are hereby directed to assemble at their respective ward areas to participate in the exercise and vote for the aspirant of their choice.”
The party also urged its members, supporters and well-wishers to cooperate with the arrangements for the fresh primary.
Dukku said, “All eligible delegates are hereby directed to assemble at their respective ward areas to participate in the exercise and vote for the aspirant of their choice.”
The party also urged its members, supporters and well-wishers to cooperate with the arrangements for the fresh primary.
Dukku called on participants to conduct themselves peacefully and orderly throughout the exercise and comply with the guidelines put in place for the conduct of the election.
The September 29 exercise is expected to produce the PDP candidate for the governorship election in Gombe State.
Also, the Senator representing Osun East in the Senate, Olubiyi Fadeyi, on Saturday, dismissed insinuations that his re-election bid had been ended by the Supreme Court judgment.
Fadeyi, in a statement obtained in Osogbo on Saturday, said the process that made him the candidate of the PDP for the Osun Central Senatorial District in the 2027 polls adhered strictly to the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Reacting to reports that the Supreme Court judgment had put paid to his ambition to return to the Senate, Fadeyi said those behind them were political opponents who were jittery over his acceptance and popularity.
The statement read in part, “For clarity’s sake, there is no clear evidence of Fadeyi’s disqualification from any court sitting; hence, the report of his alleged disqualification remains speculative and unfounded.
“The process to bestow the PDP ticket on Senator Fadeyi for a second term in office is clear, legal and approved by all relevant party executives. The PDP followed the provisions of electoral law, and everything was done in accordance with the law and the party’s laid-down rules.”
The lawmaker further said the issue relating to his candidacy remained an internal affair of the PDP, noting that it had been duly affirmed that he was the authentic candidate supported by the party.