2027: INEC Cannot Disqualify Candidates, Senior Advocate Oba Maduabuchi Insists

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oba Maduabuchi, has faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the omission of several candidates from its final list for the 2027 general elections, insisting that the commission lacks the constitutional and statutory powers to disqualify aspirants.

Maduabuchi made the position known during an appearance on Arise Television, following the publication of INEC’s final list of candidates on October 9, which left out several candidates nominated by political parties for various elective positions.

He argued that the powers of statutory institutions must be exercised strictly within the limits established by the laws that created them.

According to the lawyer, the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act do not expressly empower INEC to determine whether an individual is qualified to contest an election or to disqualify candidates.

“The police, Army and INEC are statutory creations. They are created by law. That law defines the ambit of the powers exercisable by those bodies,” he said.

Maduabuchi maintained that the commission’s responsibilities should be interpreted in line with the provisions of its enabling laws, adding that INEC had acted on what he considered faulty legal advice.

“There is no provision in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution authorising INEC to disqualify anybody. There is none,” he said.

He also insisted that the Electoral Act contained no provision granting the commission the authority to decide who was qualified to contest an election.

The senior lawyer’s comments came amid controversy over the exclusion of several candidates from INEC’s final list ahead of the 2027 elections.

Among those affected by the omissions are some candidates whose eligibility has come under scrutiny following a Supreme Court judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act governing political party membership registers and participation in primaries.

The Supreme Court had restored provisions requiring political parties to submit their membership registers within the stipulated period and use the registers during primaries, congresses and conventions.

The provisions also state that a political party that fails to submit its membership register as required may become ineligible to field candidates for an election.

INEC has maintained that the judgment has implications for parties and candidates who failed to comply with the statutory requirements. However, the commission has also clarified that the ruling concerns parties’ eligibility to field candidates rather than automatically disqualifying individual party members.

Maduabuchi’s position has added to the legal debate over the extent of INEC’s authority and the appropriate process for resolving disputes arising from the publication of the candidates’ list.

The controversy is expected to generate further legal and political challenges as affected parties and aspirants seek clarification over their status ahead of the 2027 general elections.