Supreme Court New Rulings: Atiku, Obi Chance In 2027 Election Under Questions

The Supreme Court did not deliver 2 new laws yesterday — it restored 2 old provisions that INEC has been fighting for since May.

Judgment was Thursday, September 24, 2026 — 7-man panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro in INEC vs ZLP.

What it restored:

1. Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) Electoral Act 2026
2. Section 84(2) Electoral Act 2026

The Court said they are NOT inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and set aside the Court of Appeal judgment of July 16, 2026 that had voided them.

What those sections mean :
Under Section 77(5), only members whose names appear on a political party’s membership register submitted to INEC within the stipulated period can participate in its primaries, congresses or conventions.

Section 77(6) provides that parties must use the membership register submitted to INEC for their primaries… while Section 77(7) provides that a party that fails to submit its register within the prescribed period will not be eligible to field a candidate.

Section 84(2) provides for direct primaries or consensus as the methods for political parties to nominate candidates
The Federal High Court that first dismissed ZLP’s case was decided on May 5, 2026. That is why May 2026 is now the legal cut-off — any register INEC is using for 2027 must have been submitted before then.

How it affects Obi vs Atiku:

From reporting of the coalition realignment:
Peter Obi formally joined ADC on December 31, 2025, then left ADC and joined NDC on May 3, 2026 with Kwankwaso. NDC held its presidential primary on May 29 and ratified Obi as candidate.

Atiku Abubakar joined ADC in July 2025 from PDP and stayed in ADC. He won the ADC presidential primary — 1,846,370 votes.

On ruling 1 – participating in more than one primary:
Neither of them voted in two presidential primaries for 2027. Atiku only contested ADC. Obi left ADC before the ADC primary and contested only NDC where he clinched the ticket unopposed.

Where this bites is the history argument: Section 77 and Section 84(13) in previous Electoral Acts have always been interpreted to mean if you participate in one party’s primary process, you cannot jump to another party’s primary in same election cycle. If INEC or a rival proves Obi participated in any ADC delegate congress / screening after Dec 31 before defecting to NDC, they will argue he falls under this double-primary ban. Atiku is cleaner because he resigned from PDP in July and only did ADC.

On ruling 2 – register as of May 2026 – THIS is the dangerous one:

This is where Obi is far more exposed.
Atiku’s name would have been in the ADC register submitted to INEC in early 2026 because he joined ADC since July 2025. He satisfies 77(5).

Obi joined NDC on May 3, 2026. INEC’s rule requires register to be submitted 30 days before primary. NDC’s primary was May 29 — only 26 days later. The Supreme Court restoration now means if his name was not in the NDC register that was submitted to INEC as of April/early May 2026, he is not legally a member of NDC and cannot benefit from its primary.
This is exactly what was raised against Obi in 2023 — that his name could not have been in LP register submitted 30 days before primary — but then court said membership was internal affair. The new Supreme Court judgment reverses that leniency: now register compliance is statutory.

Summary:
Atiku: SAFER. Meets the May 2026 register test for ADC, and only one primary (ADC).

Peter Obi: MORE AT RISK on point 2. His NDC defection date is after the May 5 Federal High Court cut-off. Opponents will file that his name was not in NDC register submitted to INEC as of May 2026, therefore his NDC primary victory is invalid under 77(5), 77(6), 77(7).

If you are in Obi camp, you need to urgently show INEC acknowledgement that NDC revalidated its register after May 3 and included him. If you are in Atiku camp, this judgment is actually a boost — it locks in ADC’s structure.

So Obi and NDC has to act NOW before someone challenge them to show that his name was in the NDC register submitted to INEC before May 2026 for him not to be disqualified.