By Okoi Obono-Obla
In the wake of the frenetic election season, a permanent feature of Nigeria’s political culture has again emerged: the waywardness and desperation of politicians seeking tickets to contest general elections. This culture has permeated the fabric of the political system since the return to democratic civil rule in 1999.
This season reached a climax on 3 May 2026 when former Governor Peter Obi and former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso resigned from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) which they had formally joined on 31 December 2025 as part of the opposition coalition, and joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) at a ceremony at the NDC national secretariat in Abuja. The move, which was celebrated by their supporters, was part of a hurried movement of politicians from their platforms to new ones when it became obvious they would not secure tickets in their previous parties.
A temporary reprieve for this indiscipline had come by way of judicial intervention when the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on 16 July 2026, set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar. The suit had been filed by the Zenith Labour Party against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), challenging the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandate the digitalisation of party membership registers and submission of same to INEC not later than 21 days before primaries.
The Court of Appeal accepted the argument that the provisions were inconsistent with Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution guaranteeing freedom of association. Politicians cashed in on that judgment and embarked on frenetic defections, believing an open sesame had been granted.
Alas, the Supreme Court on 24 September 2026, in a seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro, allowed INEC’s appeal, set aside the Court of Appeal judgment, restored the Federal High Court judgment and reinstated Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, holding that they are not inconsistent with the Constitution. The Court awarded N2 million costs against the Zenith Labour Party.
What is the Proper Procedure for Leaving a Party under Section 77?
The restoration has far-reaching implications. Under Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026:
Subsection (1) and (2): Each party must maintain a digital register containing name, sex, date of birth, address, State, LGA, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN) and photograph in both hard and soft copies.
Subsection (4): The register must be submitted to INEC not later than 21 days before primaries. INEC, after consultations, fixed the final deadline for the 2027 general elections as 10 May 2026, having extended it from 21 April 2026. All 22 parties complied by 8 May 2026.
Subsection (5): Only members whose names appear in the register submitted to INEC are eligible to vote or be voted for.
Subsection (6): A party shall not use any other register except the one submitted to INEC.
Subsection (7): A party that fails to submit its register within time shall not be eligible to field a candidate.
In March 2026, the National Assembly amended Section 77 by inserting new subsections 8, 9 and 10 to criminalise dual membership: “A person shall not be registered as a member of more than one political party at the same time. A person who knowingly maintains dual membership commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N10,000,000 or imprisonment for two years or both.” Where dual membership is established, such memberships are void.
Therefore, a politician who has been digitalised under Section 77(1) and wishes to leave must follow a strict deregistration procedure:
First, a written resignation addressed to the Ward Chairman through the Ward Secretary, stating full names as in the digital register, NIN, polling unit and membership number, with a stamped acknowledged copy, and copies to LGA, State and National Secretariats.
Second, a demand for removal of his name and NIN from the digital register, return of his membership card and issuance of a letter of non-membership.
Third, an Affidavit of Resignation deposed to at the High Court Registry to prove that dual membership is not knowingly retained.
Fourth, the old party must update its central database and reflect the removal in the INEC Party Membership Portal which uses NIN to detect dual registration.
Fifth, obtain a formal clearance letter from the National Secretary confirming delisting.
Only then can he lawfully register in a new party and be included in the new party’s register to be submitted to INEC.
What is the Fate of Those Who Defected on 3 May 2026 Without Following Due Process?
The date 3 May 2026 is instructive. It is seven days before the INEC deadline of 10 May 2026. In principle, politicians who moved on that date could still be lawfully accommodated if their new party included them in the register submitted by 10 May and their old party removed them before submission.
The problem arises where due process was not scrupulously followed. If Peter Obi, Kwankwaso and other politicians who defected on 3 May 2026 merely announced their defection but did not ensure that ADC removed their NINs from its digital register before 10 May, and NDC added them, then as at 10 May 2026 their NINs would be active in two INEC-verified registers.
The legal consequence is severe:
a) Under the new Section 77(8)-(10), dual membership is void. They cease to be valid members of any party. They cannot vote or be voted for under Section 77(5).
b) Their nomination by NDC is built on an illegal register in breach of Section 77(6). INEC, under Section 84(13), may refuse to include such a candidate.
c) Their candidacy is liable to nullification.
However, the enforcement of this illegality is constrained by the constitutional architecture.
Under Section 285(14) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 84(14) of the Electoral Act 2026, a dispute over membership register and nomination is a pre-election matter. Only an aspirant who participated in the NDC primary has locus standi to challenge it, within 14 days of the primary. A rival party like APC or ADC cannot challenge it at the pre-election stage.
Under Section 138(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Onor v. INEC (2024), party membership and nomination issues cannot be converted into post-election petitions. Qualification challenges at the tribunal are limited to constitutional qualifications under Sections 131 and 177 of the Constitution. Section 138(3) even imposes N5 million cost on counsel and N10 million on a petitioner who litigates nomination issues as post-election grounds.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court judgment of 24 September 2026 has ended political nomadism in law. It has restored the legal regime intended to deepen internal democracy and de-monetise our politics.
For Peter Obi, Kwankwaso and others who moved on 3 May 2026, the law is on their side as to time — they moved before 10 May 2026. But time alone does not save them. What saves them is strict compliance with deregistration: written resignation, affidavit, delisting from ADC’s digital register via NIN, clearance, and fresh capture in NDC’s register before 10 May.
If they did not scrupulously follow that procedure, their memberships in both parties are void, their candidacies are invalid ab initio, and they risk criminal liability for knowing dual membership. Their fate then depends not on the Supreme Court’s validation of the law, but on two narrow windows: whether INEC enforces Section 77 administratively, and whether any aggrieved aspirant within NDC challenges them within 14 days. If neither happens, the illegality becomes insulated and may survive to the general election, not because it is lawful, but because the Constitution and Section 138 have closed the doors for external challenge.
The lesson is clear: the era of waving a broom or umbrella and crossing the carpet with a press statement is over. Under the Electoral Act 2026, you must exit the digital register before you enter another.
