The legal battle over the All Progressives Congress, APC, primary election for the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency took a fresh twist on Thursday as the Federal High Court in Minna reserved ruling on an application seeking to amend the plaintiff’s name in the suit challenging the exercise. Justice Mohammed Aminu Dan-Ige adjourned the matter until July 16, 2026, after hearing arguments from lawyers representing both parties.
The suit, instituted by Alhaji Shehu Samaila Auna, seeks to invalidate the APC primary that produced Professor Yakubu Mohammed Auna as the party’s candidate for the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency in the 2027 general elections.
Also joined as defendants in the suit, marked FHC/MN/CS/54/2026, are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Shehu Saleh Slow, Safiyanu Yahaya, Emma Alamu and Sani Doma.
The plaintiff is asking the court to declare the nomination of the APC candidate null and void, contending that the party failed to conduct a valid primary election in line with Sections 84, 86 and 87 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel to the plaintiff, Mohammed Danjuma Abubakar, sought leave of the court to amend the plaintiff’s name as contained in the originating processes.
The request was strongly opposed by defence counsel, Philip Adah, who argued that the application amounted to an afterthought and failed to explain why the name the plaintiff initially swore to should now be altered.
He urged the court to dismiss the application, describing it as legally untenable.
Following submissions from both sides, Justice Dan-Ige fixed July 16 to deliver a ruling on the application.
Addressing journalists after the hearing, Adah insisted that the application lacked merit.
“You cannot simply seek to change the plaintiff’s name at this stage without giving any cogent reason. We believe the application is incompetent and should be struck out,” he said.
However, counsel to the plaintiff declined to comment on the proceedings.
“It is not yet time for me to speak. I will address the press when it becomes necessary. For now, I have nothing to say because the substantive hearing has not commenced,” Abubakar stated.
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Adewole Adebayo, says Nigerians are tired of President Bola Tinubu and his 'failed government'.
Adebayo spoke on Tuesday while fielding questions in an interview on Trust TV.
According to Adebayo, Nigeria is in a critical and dangerous state due to the lack of trustworthy authority.
"Nigerians are tired of Tinubu and his failed government. He has taken the cake in terms of disastrous government.
"Because in 2015, they had gotten tired of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its boast that they would rule for 60 years. They were not satisfied with President Goodluck Jonathan then, and they blindly went with change.
"At the end of the day, the government that came under Muhammadu Buhari was worse than that of Jonathan, and of course, Tinubu has taken the cake in terms of disastrous government.
"Politicians are vicious people. That is why everybody wants to be president. So when you have ambition, you can expect that ego is also involved.
"For someone to wake up in the morning and say, "I want to be president of Nigeria, he must have a bit of ego," he said.
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Senator Shehu Buba Umar over his eligibility to contest the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election on the platform of the PRP.
The party is asking the Federal High Court in Bauchi to nullify Buba’s nomination, alleging that his participation in the PRP governorship primary violated provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
The APM’s legal adviser, Barrister Jidauna Tula, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Bauchi, saying the suit was filed to seek judicial interpretation of the law governing party membership registers and eligibility for primary elections.
The case, with suit number FHC/BAU/CS/68/2026, seeks the enforcement of Sections 77(4), 77(5) and 77(6) of the Electoral Act 2026.
According to Tula, Buba had earlier participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary before subsequently emerging as the PRP’s candidate for the 2027 election.
The APM contends that Buba’s name was absent from the PRP membership register submitted to INEC within the period prescribed by law, raising questions about his eligibility to participate in the party’s governorship primary.
In its originating summons, the party is asking the court to determine whether Buba’s participation in the PRP primary held on May 25, 2026, and his emergence as the party’s governorship candidate were lawful, considering the provisions of the Electoral Act.
It also wants the court to determine whether Buba was eligible to participate in the primary when his name was allegedly missing from the membership register submitted by the PRP to INEC within the statutory period.
The APM further asked the court to determine whether Buba’s continued membership of the APC at the time the PRP submitted its membership register, as alleged by the party, affected his eligibility to participate in the PRP primary.
The party is also seeking clarification on whether the PRP complied with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act by submitting its membership register to INEC on or before May 10, 2026, ahead of its governorship primary conducted on May 25.
It further wants the court to determine whether the PRP could rely on any membership register other than the one submitted to INEC within the statutory period to establish Buba’s eligibility.
The APM is challenging INEC’s publication of Buba’s name as the PRP governorship candidate on October 10, 2026, arguing that the commission should not retain his name if the court finds that his participation in the primary and subsequent nomination contravened the law.
The party is consequently seeking a declaration that the publication of Buba’s name as the PRP candidate is unlawful, null and void.
It is also asking the court to order INEC to remove Buba’s name from the final list of candidates for the 2027 Bauchi governorship election published on October 10, 2026.
Explaining the legal basis of the suit, Tula said Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before their primaries, congresses or conventions.
He said Section 77(5) governs eligibility in relation to the applicable membership register, while Section 77(6) restricts political parties from using a different register from the one submitted to INEC within the stipulated period.
Tula alleged that because the PRP was required to submit its register by May 10, 2026, and Buba’s name was allegedly absent from the document, his participation in the party’s primary on May 25 raised questions about compliance with the law.
He further claimed that Buba remained a member of the APC as of May 19, 2026, nine days after the PRP’s reported deadline for submitting its membership register.
According to the APM legal adviser, Buba’s participation in the primary and his emergence as the PRP’s flag bearer, despite the alleged omission of his name from the relevant register, contravened the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
The party maintained that INEC’s inclusion of Buba on the final list of governorship candidates was based on a nomination it considers unlawful.
The allegations and claims contained in the suit are yet to be determined by the court.