- Court Orders INEC To Reopen Portal For Party Registration
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Judge faults INEC for closing portal before 30 day deadline
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GFP and LPP suits against INEC dismissed by court
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to allow the Grassroot Initiative Party to complete its registration as a political party.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the order was delivered on Thursday by Justice Binta Nyako, who directed INEC to reopen its registration portal for 27 days starting from March 26 to enable the association complete the process.
Justice Nyako held that INEC acted against its own Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022 by shutting the portal three days after issuing an access code to the applicants.
According to the court, the access code was expected to remain valid for 30 days, but the commission closed the portal before the period elapsed.
“I hereby order that the defendant INEC should open its portal for 27 days from today for the plaintiffs to complete its registration,” the judge ruled.
The court also rejected INEC’s argument that the suit was incompetent and statute barred on the grounds that it was not filed within 14 days of the portal’s closure.
Justice Nyako said the commission failed to provide evidence that it notified the applicants of the portal closure, weakening its defence.
The suit was filed by Nze Kanayo Chukwumezie and Mohammed Abas Kuti, who represented members of the association, through their lawyer Jideofor Ukachukwu.
They had asked the court to determine whether INEC acted lawfully by shutting the portal before the expiration of the 30 day window despite payment of a ₦2 million administrative fee.
The applicants argued that the 30 day period formed part of the registration conditions and that they still had 27 days left to upload required documents when the portal was closed on October 19, 2025.
Meanwhile, the court dismissed separate suits filed by the Green Future Party and the Liberation People’s Party against INEC.
In the GFP case, the court held that the applicants failed to meet constitutional requirements for party registration, while in the LPP suit, the court ruled that the party undermined its own case and was not entitled to the reliefs sought.
