The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register Wisdom Party, ruling that the case lacked merit and had become academic.
Justice James Omotosho delivered the judgment in a suit filed by Chief Mrs Chinasa Nwekeke, the association’s protem national chairman, on behalf of the proposed party.
Nwekeke had asked the court to declare that INEC’s failure to respond to the association’s letter of intent within 90 days amounted to approval of its name, symbol and acronym. She also challenged the commission’s authority to charge administrative fees for political party registration under the Electoral Act, 2022.
She further argued that INEC’s failure to provide account details for payment of the fee amounted to a waiver and sought an order directing the commission to accept the association’s application for registration.
INEC, through its lawyer, Segun Bello, opposed the suit, arguing that the letter of intent did not include the proposed party’s symbol and therefore failed to meet legal requirements. The commission also contended that granting the reliefs would leave insufficient time to complete the registration process before the January 2027 general election.
Delivering judgment, Omotosho held that INEC had the power to charge administrative and processing fees for political party registration, noting that the law did not expressly prohibit the commission from doing so.
He explained that revenue generated through such fees could be paid into the INEC Fund, adding that receiving public funding did not prevent an institution from charging fees for some of its services.
The judge consequently held that the plaintiff’s claims lacked merit and dismissed the suit.
