Former Appeal Court President Isa Salami Faults Peter Obi 2023 Candidacy Over Disputed Party Membership Eligibility

Retired Justice Isa Salami argues Peter Obi was ineligible for the 2023 election due to party register errors. Explore his critique of the Nigerian judiciary.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 25, 2026, 9:40 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from News.ng

A Judicial Critique of Election Eligibility

The legal foundation of the 2023 presidential election has come under renewed scrutiny following sharp criticisms from Isa Salami, the former President of the Court of Appeal. Speaking during an awards ceremony in Ilorin, the retired jurist alleged that the emergence of Peter Obi as the Labour Party flag bearer was technically flawed under the Nigerian Constitution. Salami argued that the judiciary demonstrated a lack of competence by failing to identify and act upon procedural errors regarding the timing of Obi’s transition from the Peoples Democratic Party to his current political platform.

Questioning the Validity of Party Registers

Central to the former Justice’s argument is the constitutional requirement that prohibits independent candidacy in Nigeria. Salami contended that by the time the Labour Party was required to submit its formal membership list to the Independent National Electoral Commission, the former Anambra Governor had not yet established a legitimate membership status. According to Salami, if a candidate’s name does not appear on the official party register submitted to the electoral umpire, any subsequent membership card issued is essentially a document without a legal mother, rendering the candidacy invalid from its inception.

The Crisis of Competence in Higher Courts

The retired jurist did not limit his critique to a single candidate, using the platform to lament what he perceives as a broader decline in the quality of judicial output. He characterized several recent judgments as "painful" and "outstanding" in their failure to adhere to constitutional principles. Salami suggested that the problem lies in the recruitment process for the nation’s highest courts, asserting that elevations to the Supreme Court are sometimes driven by regional vacancies rather than the merit or intellectual rigor of the appointees.