Dr Gbenga Hashim, the Accord Party presidential candidate and co‑chairman of the Movement for Democratic Renewal, has called for the disbandment and reconstitution of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after a Court of Appeal judgment declared key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 unconstitutional.
The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja on 16 July 2026, voided Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Act, ruling that they were inconsistent with Sections 221 and 222 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The judgment followed an appeal by the Zenith Labour Party, which challenged the Act’s rules on party membership registers and candidate nomination schedules.
Hashim said that “everything INEC has done” under the disputed legal framework is a nullity pending the Supreme Court’s final determination. He argued that INEC’s attempt to restore the voided provisions in court “raises questions about the electoral body’s complicity in a process it is supposed to oversee.” “The Constitution is supreme. INEC is not Parliament,” he said, adding that the commission should insist on constitutional compliance rather than defend statutory arrangements declared unconstitutional.
INEC has appealed the Court of Appeal’s decision to the Supreme Court. On 16 September 2026, a seven‑member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro heard the appeal and reserved judgment, with the date of the decision to be communicated to the parties. Hashim noted that INEC’s right to appeal is not in dispute, but questioned the commission’s “institutional interest” in sustaining provisions that a competent appellate court has declared inconsistent with the Constitution.
“INEC is fighting in all courts, including the Supreme Court, wasting public resources to hire big lawyers to sustain provisions of the Electoral Act that contradicts the Constitution,” Hashim warned. “INEC, as presently constituted, is a threat to Nigeria’s democratic order.”
Hashim warned that the 2027 general election could become a “coronation” rather than a genuine democratic contest, citing the commission’s actions as a “supervision of coronation.” He also criticised the “conspiracy of silence” of major media organisations over the Court of Appeal judgment and the Supreme Court proceedings, arguing that the matter, which directly affects the rules governing political parties and candidate nomination, deserves sustained national attention.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
