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Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oba Maduabuchi, has argued that guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should carry more legal weight than provisions of the Electoral Act in the conduct and administration of elections in Nigeria.
He made the submission during an interview on ARISE News on Monday while reacting to a Federal High Court ruling on INEC’s timetable ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Maduabuchi maintained that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) vests exclusive powers in INEC to organise, undertake and supervise elections, making its guidelines an extension of those constitutional duties.
He noted that INEC was created directly by the Constitution and not by the Electoral Act.
“Let us start from the Constitution. Section 153 created INEC. It wasn’t the Electoral Act that created INEC,” he said.
According to him, the constitutional mandate given to the electoral body places it in a superior position when issuing rules that guide the electoral process.
“The provision is very clear. It says INEC shall organise, undertake and supervise elections,” he added.
Maduabuchi explained that these powers extend to determining election procedures, timelines, and the conduct of political parties during primaries.
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“It is only INEC that has the power to organise elections by saying submit your candidates by such and such a time. Do your primaries like this. Do this as it respects elections,” he said.
He further broke down INEC’s mandate into organisation, undertaking, and supervision of elections, stressing that these roles give the commission wide regulatory authority.
Maduabuchi insisted that any provision of the Electoral Act that conflicts with INEC’s constitutional powers would be invalid.
“Any law, including the Electoral Act, that tends to derogate from these powers is unconstitutional,” he said.
He added that INEC guidelines, being issued pursuant to constitutional authority, should be treated as binding instruments within the electoral framework.
“With respect to organising elections, INEC guidelines should be higher than the Electoral Act because they are made pursuant to powers given by the Constitution,” he stated.
He concluded that while the Electoral Act provides a structural framework for elections, INEC retains the constitutional authority to issue binding guidelines that govern how elections are conducted.
