A fresh political dispute has emerged in Imo State following a Supreme Court judgment restoring key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, with a political group claiming that the ruling has implications for the 2027 candidature of House of Representatives member Emeka Chinedu.
Chinedu, who represents Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency, was recently unveiled by the Young Progressives Party (YPP) as its candidate for the constituency in the 2027 general elections.
The Ezinihitte Progressives, however, has argued that the Supreme Court judgment effectively invalidates his candidature because of the timing of his movement between political parties.
The group’s Convener, AIC Akwarandu, also alleged that Chinedu threatened to invoke provisions of Nigeria’s cybercrime law against him following comments he made about the judgment and its possible implications for the lawmaker.
According to a WhatsApp message said to have been sent to Akwarandu and seen by our correspondent, Chinedu referred to possible action under the cybercrime law over statements concerning his political activities and candidature.
The allegation has not been independently verified, and Chinedu’s response to the group’s interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment was not available at the time of filing this report.
What Supreme Court ruled
The Supreme Court on Thursday restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, setting aside an earlier Court of Appeal judgment that had voided the provisions.
The provisions deal principally with political party membership registers and procedures for nominating candidates.
Section 77(5) provides that only members whose names appear in a political party’s membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within the prescribed period may vote or be voted for at party primaries, congresses and conventions.
Section 77(6) requires political parties to use the membership register submitted to INEC for such exercises, while Section 77(7) provides consequences for a party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated period.
Section 84(2), meanwhile, provides for direct primaries or consensus as methods for political parties to nominate candidates.
The Supreme Court held that the disputed provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and consequently restored the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court dismissing the challenge against them.
Group questions Chinedu’s YPP ticket
Reacting to the ruling, Akwarandu argued that its application to party membership and candidate nomination requirements could affect Chinedu’s YPP ticket.
He claimed that the lawmaker could not have satisfied the relevant membership-register requirements because of the timing of his movement to the YPP.
However, the Supreme Court judgment, as publicly reported, dealt with the validity of the Electoral Act provisions and did not specifically determine Chinedu’s candidature.
The Ezinihitte Progressives’ position on his eligibility therefore represents the group’s interpretation of the possible effect of the judgment rather than a specific Supreme Court order nullifying his ticket.
The group further alleged that Chinedu moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on whose platform he won elections to the House of Representatives in 2019 and 2023, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) before eventually joining the YPP.
It also claimed that he explored the possibility of joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) before settling for the YPP.
Akwarandu argued that the restored provisions had closed what he described as a loophole that could allow politicians to participate in one party’s nomination process before defecting to another platform during the same election cycle.
The group subsequently called on Chinedu to withdraw from the contest.
YPP unveiled Chinedu for 2027 race
The YPP officially unveiled Chinedu as its candidate for Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency on September 18, 2026.
At the unveiling, the party presented the two-term legislator’s entry into the YPP as a new phase in his political career as he seeks another term in the House of Representatives.
Chinedu has represented the constituency since 2019.
Following the 2023 general election, the Court of Appeal affirmed his election on the PDP platform and dismissed challenges to his victory.
The latest controversy has shifted attention to how the restored provisions of the Electoral Act could apply to candidates who changed political parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
Any definitive determination of Chinedu’s eligibility would depend on the relevant facts surrounding his YPP membership and nomination process, as well as any decision by INEC or a court exercising jurisdiction over a specific challenge to his candidature.
