Court orders INEC to grant GRIP 27-day access to registration portal

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reopen its party registration portal to allow the Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP) complete its registration process.

Justice Binta Nyako, who delivered the judgment, directed INEC to provide GRIP access to the portal for 27 days, effective March 26, to enable the party upload outstanding requirements.

The court held that INEC’s decision to shut the portal three days after issuing GRIP an access code—well short of the stipulated 30-day window—was inconsistent with its 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.

“I hereby order that the defendant should open its portal for 27 days from today for the plaintiffs to complete their registration,” Nyako ruled.

The judge also dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection that the suit was statute-barred, noting that the commission failed to provide evidence that it formally notified the plaintiffs of the portal’s closure.

Nyako held that the failure to serve such notice, a condition precedent, undermined INEC’s position and was resolved against the commission.

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GRIP, through its officials, had approached the court after alleging that INEC prematurely shut its registration portal despite granting it a 30-day window following payment of a N2 million administrative fee.

The suit, filed on December 24, 2025, by counsel Jideofor Ukachukwu on behalf of Nze Kanayo Chukwumezie and Mohammed Abas Kuti, sought a determination of whether INEC acted lawfully in closing the portal before the expiration of the stipulated period.

The plaintiffs argued that the 30-day timeline was consistent with INEC’s guidelines and the user framework for the Political Party Registration Portal (PPRP).

They asked the court to compel INEC to reopen the portal and extend the timeline to enable compliance with registration requirements.

In a related development, the court dismissed separate suits filed by the Green Future Party (GFP) and the Liberation People’s Party (LPP) against INEC.

In the GFP case, the court held that the party failed to meet constitutional requirements for registration. In the LPP suit, Nyako ruled that although its access code remained valid at the time of the portal shutdown, the party was not entitled to relief, having undermined its own case.