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The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to audit the membership registers of political parties and disqualify candidates for the 2027 elections whose names are not listed in the registers, in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
The Chairman of the committee, Rep. Bayo Balogun (APC), made the call in a statement on Tuesday, urging INEC to fully enforce the relevant provisions of the law following a recent Supreme Court judgment.
Balogun drew the commission’s attention to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7), and called for the provisions to be applied to all political parties.
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He said the legal proceedings surrounding the interpretation, constitutionality and enforceability of the provisions had been settled by the Supreme Court’s judgment.
The lawmaker recalled that on September 24, the Supreme Court restored the provisions after setting aside a Court of Appeal judgment that had declared them unconstitutional.
According to him, the apex court ruled that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
Balogun explained that Section 77(5) stipulates that only party members whose names appear in the membership register submitted to INEC are eligible to vote or contest at party primaries, congresses and conventions.
He added that Section 77(6) requires political parties to use the membership register submitted to INEC for such exercises.
The committee chairman therefore urged INEC to begin, without further delay, the enforcement of Sections 77(4) to 77(6) in the administration and monitoring of political parties and their electoral activities.
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Balogun said the proposed audit should determine whether the names of candidates submitted by political parties are contained in the membership registers previously submitted to INEC, as required under Section 77(5).
“This will be a litmus test for the commission; any culpable political party and candidates should be disqualified.
“Diligent enforcement of the provision would help prevent disputes and reduce the volume of litigation that could arise from alleged irregularities or non-compliance with Sections 77(4) to 77(6) of the Electoral Act,” he said.
