The National Assembly on Thursday, passed an amendment to the Electoral Act 2026, which seeks to provide definitive jurisdiction for pre-election matters, aims to eliminate the judicial chaos often caused by conflicting rulings in candidate nomination disputes.
The version of the bill passed today in the House was sponsored by the House Leader, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere (Owan Federal Constituency). Its passage follows the successful second and third readings of the identical Senate version, sponsored by Senator Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau South), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters.
With both chambers now in agreement, the bill moves to the final stage of legislative processing before being transmitted to the President for assent.
The primary intent of the amendment is to curb “forum shopping,” where litigants approach different courts in different states to obtain favorable orders on the same internal party matter. By providing clear jurisdiction, the bill ensures:
- Centralized Adjudication: Specific courts are now designated to handle pre-election litigations, preventing the issuance of contradictory judgments from courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
- Judicial Efficiency: The bill streamlines the process for resolving disputes arising from party primaries, ensuring that the legal status of candidates is settled well before the general elections.
- Timely Resolution: It reinforces the timeline for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to finalize candidate lists, providing a more stable environment for election planning.
This amendment is the first major adjustment to the Electoral Act 2026, which was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on February 18, 2026. While the original 2026 Act focused heavily on the statutory integration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results, lawmakers observed that the judicial “gray areas” regarding pre-election suits required immediate clarification.
