Our attention has been drawn to reports and social media posts claiming that the Supreme Court judgment of 24th September, 2026 in Independent National Electoral Commission v. Zenith Labour Party (Appeal No. SC/CR/495/2026) has put an end to the senatorial candidacy of our client, Rt. Hon. (Engr.) Victor O. Ochei, Esq. These claims are false. They misstate what the Court decided. We issue this statement to set the record straight for the people of Delta North and the public.
1. What the Supreme Court decided
The Supreme Court allowed INEC’s appeal and restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026. It held that these sections are consistent with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). That was the only question before the Court.• The Court made no order against any candidate.• It did not consider or decide the membership status or nomination of any individual.• Our client was not a party to the proceedings.
A decision that a statute is valid is not a decision that any particular person has breached it. Anyone who claims our client is “caught” by the judgment must show, on the facts, that he failed to meet the provisions it restored. He did not.
2. Our client fully complied with Section 77
The records establish the following:• Resignation. On 8th May, 2026, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress in writing.• NDC membership. He was registered as a member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in time enough for his name to be entered in the NDC Register of Members.• Submission of the register. The NDC submitted that register to INEC on the 8th day of May, 2026, within the deadline INEC had extended to 10th May, 2026. INEC publicly confirmed that all registered parties had submitted their registers by 8th May, 2026.• The primary. The NDC held its primaries nationwide on 29th May, 2026, not less than 21 days after the register was submitted, as Section 77(4) and (5) require. The primary was conducted using the register submitted to INEC, and no other, as Section 77(6) requires. The exercise was monitored by INEC and security agencies.• Mode of nomination. Our client emerged by direct primary in accordance with Section 84(2).• INEC’s final list. INEC received his nomination and published his name on the final list of candidates for the Delta North Senatorial District.
The NDC submitted its register on time. Section 77(7), which bars parties that fail to submit a register from fielding candidates, therefore does not apply.
3. No dual membership and no second primary
Our client did not buy a form for, or contest, the APC Delta North senatorial primary held on 18th May, 2026. By then he had already left the APC. He has never belonged to two parties at once, and he did not take part in two primaries in the same election cycle.
4. The waiver is irrelevant to Section 77
Some have pointed to the waiver granted by the NDC National Working Committee as proof of late entry. This is a misunderstanding. A waiver concerns the party’s own constitutional requirements, such as the minimum period of membership before a member may seek a ticket. It does not create membership, and it has nothing to do with the register submitted to INEC.
Likewise, the date on which a defection was publicly announced or reported is not the date on which membership began. Membership is proved by the register, not by press reports.
5. The law does not allow the challenge now being suggested
Even if any person were aggrieved by our client’s nomination, the Constitution and the Electoral Act set strict limits:• A complaint about nomination or membership is a pre-election matter.• Under Section 285(9) of the Constitution, a pre-election suit must be filed within 14 days of the event complained of. That period expired long ago.• Standing to challenge a party’s primary is limited by statute, principally to aspirants who took part in that primary.• The Supreme Court has consistently held that questions of party membership and nomination are pre-election matters. They cannot be raised after the election as grounds of an election petition. The grounds for qualification to contest a Senate seat are set out in the Constitution.• INEC cannot, on its own initiative, disqualify a candidate lawfully nominated by a political party and published on its final list. Only a court of competent jurisdiction can do so, in a proper proceeding brought within time.
6. Our message to the public
Rt. Hon. (Engr.) Victor O. Ochei, Esq. remains the lawful candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress for the Delta North Senatorial District in the election of 16th January, 2027. His name will be on the ballot.
We urge the people of Delta North to disregard the misinformation now circulating. We call on our client’s opponents to campaign on their records and programmes rather than on misreadings of a judgment that did not concern him. We will take appropriate legal steps against any publication that continues to misrepresent our client’s legal status after this clarification.
Signed:
………………………………………………
Christian E. Obiazi, Esq.
Principal Partner, Golden Steel Attorneys
For: The Legal Team of Rt. Hon. (Engr.) Victor O. Ochei, Esq.
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