Before the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, ISIEC, announced the cancellation of the November 7, 2026 local government election, a legal practitioner, Charles Chukwukadibia Nwogu, had approached the Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri, seeking an order to halt the exercise over alleged non-compliance with the commission’s electoral guidelines.
Nwogu, in Suit No. HOW/1510/2026, listed the Chairman of ISIEC, Chief Charles Ejioju, the electoral commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Imo State Government as respondents. He asked the court to restrain the respondents from proceeding with the election on the grounds of alleged substantial non-compliance with Sections 4.2, 4.3, 5.2, 5.4, 5.6, 9.1 and 9.2 of the 2024 Local Government Council Election Guidelines of ISIEC.
The applicant also sought an order compelling the respondents, in conjunction with the Imo State Government, to establish Local Government Election Tribunals in line with the provisions of the 2024 guidelines. Nwogu argued that substantial non-compliance with electoral procedures would leave voters “incommunicado and disenfranchised,” insisting that local government councils must be governed by democratically elected representatives.
In an affidavit supporting the motion, Nwogu, who said he is from Emii Autonomous Community in Owerri North Local Government Area, made allegations concerning the conduct of the September 21, 2024 local government election. He claimed that he contested as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, for Owerri North and was issued a return certificate on September 9, 2024, but alleged that no election was eventually conducted on the scheduled date.
Nwogu further alleged that he spent over N18.64 million campaigning across Owerri North before the exercise, which he claimed was not held, while results were subsequently announced. He also made allegations of electoral rule violations and misuse of public funds against some of the respondents, claiming that funds were budgeted for the recruitment of ad-hoc election officials, including returning officers, supervisory officers, presiding officers, poll clerks and ward collation officers.
Expressing concern over the now-cancelled November 7 election, Nwogu had alleged that the respondents were preparing to conduct the exercise without following the 2024 ISIEC guidelines, warning that the alleged events of 2024 could recur. He asked the court to intervene and halt the poll, arguing that “courts should not look the other way where election is conducted in clear violation of the Electoral Act and other statutory guidelines.”
The legal action came before ISIEC subsequently announced the cancellation of the November 7 local government election, a development that has now put the planned exercise on hold. The allegations and claims contained in Nwogu’s court processes remain subject to judicial determination.
