INEC: We’ll study court judgement on Accord Party presidential candidate

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will study the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordering it to recognise and upload the name of the Accord presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday during a World News Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting, convened to mark 100 days to the 2027 general election.

Amupitan, while responding to a question on the judgement, reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to complying with all lawful court orders, but noted that the Federal High Court was not the final court on the matter.

Amupitan assured Nigerians that INEC would thoroughly review the judgment to assess its implications on electoral operations and timelines.

He said: We are going to comply with every lawful order of court.

“However, the Federal High Court is not the final court. So, we will study the judgment and see how it affects our operations and our timelines.”

Also responding to a question on the Supreme Court judgements on candidate submissions and party eligibility, Amupitan cautioned against reliance on unverified court documents circulating on social media.

He said the commission acts strictly on authentic Certified True Copies (CTCs) of judicial rulings before making policy or operational decisions.

Amupitan added: “As a commission, we don’t rely on what you see on social media, especially a judgement of the final court that is not signed, and people claim that they are even CTC which we heard are forged — they are not correct.

“Until you have the authentic copy before you, you cannot read it, appreciate it, and analyse it.”

Amupitan, however clarified that the scope of the recent apex court’s pronouncements  focused on political party eligibility to field candidates rather than individual candidate disqualifications.

The INEC chairman said: “CTC of Supreme Court judgement, and whether we are going to publish the list of candidates that did not comply with the provision. You see, the Supreme Court did not talk of candidate list.

“I managed to flip through some of the judgment this morning because we actually have been asking for the CTC.

“We will look at it vis-a-vis the content and the tenor of the decision and the mischief that the Supreme Court pointed out.”