‘You have no constitutional powers to disgualify candidates’, Court tells INEC

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not have the constitutional authority to disqualify candidates submitted by political parties for elections. In a recent judgment, Justice Peter Lifu ordered INEC to reinstate the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, on its list for the 2027 governorship election within 24 hours.

The court held that INEC had breached Adebutu's right to a fair hearing by excluding his name from the candidate’s list without providing him an opportunity to be heard.