Lawyer and public affairs analyst Monday Ubani has warned that INEC’s administrative guidelines cannot override the Electoral Act, as the legal battle over the 2027 election timetable intensifies.
Speaking on “Frontline” on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ubani said the case goes beyond INEC and touches the foundation of electoral legality in Nigeria.
“A subsidiary legislation should not be superior to the superior enactment that actually gave birth to it,” he said, calling it a settled principle in law.
The dispute centers on Section 29 of the Electoral Act and INEC’s guideline setting a May deadline for submission of party registers. Ubani argued that the deadline shortened rights already granted to parties and candidates under the Act, which the court found problematic.
He noted that while INEC has regulatory powers and may need administrative flexibility for efficiency, those powers must operate within constitutional and statutory limits.
“The court is saying you have a right for administrative powers, but if that timeline encroaches upon a right already given by law, it becomes inconsistent,” Ubani explained. He added that where such inconsistency exists, the court is bound to declare the guidelines null and void to that extent.
Ubani said INEC’s application for a stay of execution does not automatically suspend the ruling, and courts may instead fast-track the appeal. He also clarified that until a court rules otherwise, the window for politicians to switch parties remains open under the current law.
Criticizing Nigeria’s culture of opportunistic defections, he said the problem is more about political values than legislation.
“Nigeria’s political system suffers from weak ideological grounding, where political parties are often treated as vehicles to attain power rather than platforms of principle,” he said.
Ubani concluded that Nigeria’s transformation depends on leadership accountability and informed electoral choices, warning that without ideological clarity and civic responsibility, governance challenges will persist.
