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.
Speaking on the bill during plenary, Lalong said the proposed amendment was designed to eliminate conflicting judgements, reduce abuse of judicial processes and shorten delays in the determination of electoral disputes.
According to him, the amendment will help restore public confidence in the judiciary and strengthen the country’s electoral system.
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.
The proposed amendments seek to ensure that pre-election cases are filed only in courts with proper jurisdiction, preventing litigants from seeking favourable judgements from multiple courts across the country.
Under the proposed Section 29A of the Electoral Act, all pre-election disputes relating to National Assembly, State House of Assembly, governorship and deputy governorship elections will originate at the Federal High Court, with appeals to be heard by the Court of Appeal.
The amendment also provides that disputes involving presidential and vice-presidential elections will commence at the Court of Appeal and terminate at the Supreme Court, in line with Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The bill also streamlines the process for resolving disputes arising from party primaries, ensuring that the legal status of candidates is settled well before the general elections. 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.
