Adeboro Adamson: Challenging INEC’s Candidate Omission In Court Will Be A Waste Of Time

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeboro Adamson, has described court challenges to the omission of candidates from INEC’s final list of candidates for the 2027 elections as a waste of time, citing the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Section 77 of the Electoral Act.

Recall that prominent candidates were omitted from INEC’s final list including former Communications Minister Isa Pantami, Ladi Adebutu, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, amongst others.

Speaking with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Adamson Adamson said the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Section 77 of the Electoral Act empowers INEC to exclude candidates whose parties failed to comply with statutory membership registration requirements.

“The recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of INEC against the Zenith Labour Party has given INEC the power to remove a candidate sponsored by a party without compliance with the Electoral Act, specifically section 77 subsections 5, 6, and 7 of the Electoral Act.

“The court has urged that if a party did not comply with that provision, the penalty, as specified in section 77 subsection 7, is that the party will be unable to submit or to substitute such a candidate.

“But for me, the provisions of section 77 have been in the Electoral Act from the beginning. So if a party did not read the law and comply with the law absolutely before submitting their candidate, they are on their own.

“So, in other words, if they go to court, it will be a total waste of time.”

He argued that both candidates and their sponsoring parties must bear the consequences of non-compliance with Section 77(7) of the Electoral Act, adding that substitution deadlines expired on August 12, 2026, for presidential and National Assembly candidates, and September 19, 2026, for governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.

“The party must comply with the law. So when the party fails to comply with the law, then the party must bear the consequence. That is the essence of section 77 subsection 7. And that is what the Supreme Court has said clearly here.

“But the question is this: you cannot substitute a candidate if you are still within the time prescribed for substitution. Now, if you look at the National Assembly election and presidential election, the time for substitution ended on 12th August 2026. For governor and House of Assembly, 19th September. So it clearly means that after the judgment of the court, you can no longer substitute. That’s the end of the road for the parties, simple as clear.”

Blaming the affected parties and their candidates, Adamson said they had themselves to hold responsible for failing to study and comply with the Constitution, Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, stressing that ignorance of the law was no excuse for non-compliance.

“Just the way Bible is critical to Christians, and Quran to Muslims, the Electoral Act is critical to every political party and their candidates. And remember, ignorance of law is not excuse for anything. So you ought to have studied your law. Critically, the constitution, the electoral act, and the guideline of INEC that are critical to all the parties and their candidates.

“So if you don’t study and know it very well, who are you going to blame? You need to blame yourself.”

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