The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has approached the High Court of Imo State, Owerri Judicial Division, seeking an order to stop the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) from conducting the state’s local government elections scheduled for September 26, 2026.
In Suit No. HOW/1380/2026, filed on September 16, APGA and four of its state executives are asking the court to restrain ISIEC and its Chairman from proceeding with the election pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The party’s challenge comes after ISIEC fixed September 26 for elections into the 27 local government chairmanship positions and 305 ward councillorship seats across the state’s 4,758 polling units. The commission had said the date was covered by its 360-day Notice of Election issued on September 18, 2025.
However, APGA, in its court action, is challenging the validity of the earlier notice.
The plaintiffs argued that the 360-day Notice of Election issued by ISIEC on September 18, 2025, was defective because, according to them, it did not expressly state the date on which the elections would be conducted.
They further contended that ISIEC’s subsequent announcement on September 11, 2026, fixing the elections for September 26 came too late and could not, in their view, remedy the alleged defect in the earlier notice.
APGA is therefore asking the court to restrain the electoral commission and its chairman from proceeding with the September 26 exercise pending the determination of the substantive issues raised in the suit.
ISIEC, meanwhile, has maintained that the September 26 election date is in line with the 360-day notice issued in 2025 pursuant to Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, as amended.
The court is expected to consider the parties’ arguments and determine the legal questions surrounding the notice and the scheduled local government elections.
By Enitan Mudashiru | MUK TV News
