The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register Wisdom Party as a political party ahead of the 2027 general election.
Justice James Omotosho, who delivered the judgment, ruled that the suit lacked merit and had become academic.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the case was filed by Chief Mrs Chinasa Nwekeke, who approached the court as the pro tem National Chairman of Wisdom Party, a political association seeking registration as a political party.
Nwekeke filed the suit on April 14, 2026, through her lawyer, Mark Agbo. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/746/2026, listed INEC as the sole defendant.
The plaintiff asked the court to declare that Wisdom Party was entitled to registration, arguing that the commission had failed to object to the proposed name, symbol and logo within the period allowed by law.
She also challenged the legality of the administrative fee charged by INEC for processing applications for political party registration.
Nwekeke argued that Sections 3(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, which provide for the establishment and funding of the INEC Fund, and Section 75(6), which allows the commission to determine administrative fees for party registration, were inconsistent with other provisions of the law.
She maintained that INEC's failure to respond to the association's letter of intent should be treated as an indication that the commission had no objection to its proposed name, symbol and acronym.
The plaintiff further asked the court to declare that the provision allowing INEC to collect fees from political associations for registration purposes was inconsistent with Section 4(1)(f) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
She urged the court to invalidate the provision and order INEC to accept the association's application for registration as a political party.
Nwekeke also argued that the commission's failure to provide its account details for the payment of the administrative fee amounted to a waiver of the requirement. She alleged that the failure had frustrated the association's efforts to complete the registration process.
INEC, however, opposed the suit and urged the court to dismiss the claims.
The commission, through its lawyer, Segun Bello, argued that the association's letter of intent did not contain the symbol of the proposed political party, making the document invalid under the law.
INEC also told the court that the 2027 general election was scheduled for January 2027. According to the commission, granting the plaintiff's request would still require the association to submit a formal application at a time when the election was less than 12 months away.
The electoral body maintained that the association had not met the legal requirements for registration and, therefore, could not demand the reliefs sought before the court.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho examined the provisions governing the INEC Fund and the commission's authority to collect administrative fees.
The judge observed that Section 3 of the Electoral Act, particularly subsection 2(c), made provisions for different sources of funds, including grants and other financial accruals.
He explained that revenue generated by INEC could be paid into the fund established for the commission's operations.
The judge held that administrative fees collected for political party registration qualified as revenue and could legally be paid into the fund.
Omotosho further ruled that INEC had the authority to charge administrative and processing fees for some of its services.
He noted that the fact that a public institution receives funding from the Federation Account does not prevent it from generating additional revenue through charges for specific services.
To support his position, the judge referred to the judiciary, which receives funding from the Consolidated Revenue Fund but still charges fees for filing and processing court documents.
He said there was no express provision preventing INEC from fixing administrative fees for political party registration.
The judge consequently held that the commission had the legal authority to determine and collect such fees.
After considering the arguments presented by both parties, Omotosho concluded that the plaintiff had failed to establish a valid basis for the court to grant the requested orders.
He subsequently dismissed the suit, bringing the legal challenge over the proposed registration of Wisdom Party to an end at the Federal High Court.
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