By Emmanuel Oloniruha

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will study the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordering it to recognise and upload the name of the Accord presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during a World News Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting, convened to mark 100 days to the 2027 general election.

Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to immediately uphold Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as Accord Party’s Presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The Judge ordered Accord party to submit the candidate’s name to the electoral umpire in line with provisions of section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026 and should be accepted by INEC.

Justice Umar in a judgment on Monday in a suit against Accord party and INEC held that section 86 of the Electoral Act was violently violated with refusal to submit the plaintiff’s name to INEC after emerging victorious in the May 30 primary election as sole aspirant.

Although Accord party denied ever conducting any primary election, Justice Umar discontennanced the claim because of the evidence that Olawepo-Hashim paid N50M for expression of interest and nomination forms and accepted from him.

The judge held that most of the claims of Accord party in respect of the disputed primary election were contradictory and unbelievable in the face of the law.

Olawepo-Hashim, through his counsel, Henry Akunebu SAN had urged the court to direct Accord Party to immediately upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal as its presidential candidate and compel the electoral body to recognise and accept the nomination.

Amupitan, while responding to a question on the judgment, reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to complying with all lawful court orders, but noted that the Federal High Court was not the final court on the matter.

He assured Nigerians that INEC would thoroughly review the judgment to assess its implications on electoral operations and timelines.

“We are going to comply with every lawful order of court.

“However, the Federal High Court is not the final court. So, we will study the judgment and see how it affects our operations and our timelines,’’ he said.

Also responding to a question on the Supreme Court judgments regarding candidate submissions and party eligibility, Amupitan cautioned against reliance on unverified court documents circulating on social media.

He said that the commission acts strictly on authentic, Certified True Copies (CTCs) of judicial rulings before making policy or operational decisions.

“As a commission, we don’t rely on what you see on social media, especially a judgment of the final court that is not signed, and people claim that they are even CTC which we heard are forged — they are not correct.

“Until you have the authentic copy before you, you cannot read it, appreciate it, and analyse it,” he said.

Amupitan, however clarified that the scope of the recent apex court’s pronouncements  focused on political party eligibility to field candidates rather than individual candidate disqualifications.

“CTC of Supreme Court judgment, and whether we are going to publish the list of candidates that did not comply with the provision. You see, the Supreme Court did not talk of candidate list.

“I managed to flip through some of the judgment this morning because we actually have been asking for the CTC.

“We will look at it vis-a-vis the content and the tenor of the decision and the mischief that the Supreme Court pointed out,” he said.

Amupitan noted that INEC remained guided by statutory provisions and established judicial precedent to maintain fairness and administrative compliance ahead of the 2027 elections.

Also responding to questions on deployment of technology, Amupitan said that INEC would deploy Artificial Intelligence in areas of electronic transmission, promoting voter education and tackling disinformation to improve 2027 general elections.

He said that the commission was partnering with DIA on deployment of AI as well as Microsoft and Google to protect the integrity of INEC’s technology against compromised.

He said that the spread at which INEC concluded Osun and recently conducted election showed that the commission had improved on its deployment of technology ahead of 2027 general election.

“So far, we have improved on our results, which will stimulate youth participation,’’ he said..

On participation of the under age in electoral process, Amupitan said that the commission was taking measures to addresses it, citing action taken by the commission to stop in during the Osun Governorship election.

He said one of the areas he had identified was result management and welfare of staff, adding that those challenges were being addressed.

Amupiatn further said INEC was open to constructive collaborations and engagements. (NAN)