Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress, ADC, have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja for permission to amend their suit challenging President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The plaintiffs are seeking to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from participating in the election over an allegation that a forged National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, discharge certificate was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, also has INEC as the third defendant.

In a motion filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo, Atiku and the ADC asked the court to grant them leave to amend their originating summons and deem the amended processes as properly filed.

They said the amendment became necessary after they discovered errors in the nomenclature of some INEC forms attached to their affidavit, which were referred to as Form CF001 instead of Form EC9A.

The plaintiffs also said they needed to set out the particulars of the alleged fraud more specifically, include Atiku’s written deposition and attach clearer copies of exhibits referred to in the suit.

Tinubu and the APC, however, have asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that it is incompetent and that the plaintiffs lack the legal standing to institute it.

In a joint counter-affidavit filed on September 9, the President and APC denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections.

They also said they did not submit Form CF001 to INEC for either election as alleged by the plaintiffs, adding that the NYSC had never denied issuing a discharge certificate to Tinubu after his service year.

In their written address, the defendants argued that allegations of forgery, being criminal, must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Their counsel, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, argued that evidence from the institution alleged to have issued the disputed certificate would be required to establish that it was forged.

Olujinmi said Atiku and the ADC had not produced any evidence from the NYSC disclaiming the issuance of the discharge certificate to Tinubu.

He therefore urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as incompetent and lacking a proper basis for the plaintiffs’ claims.

The court has fixed September 28 for hearing in the case.

A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kaduna State, Ibrahim Muhammad, has appealed to the party leadership not to attempt to alter the already established primary election process in the state.

In a statement issued on Friday in Kaduna, he explained that the matter deserved careful attention, saying that the process of selecting a party’s candidate is central to internal democracy, fairness and the confidence of party members.

Some members of the party are calling for a primary election to select the governorship candidate, alleging that no consensus arrangement was reached to produce a candidate to contest the 2027 election in the state.

According to Muhammad, “Where a primary-election procedure has already been established and communicated, any attempt to change it should be undertaken strictly in accordance with the NDC Constitution, applicable electoral law, the party’s approved guidelines and INEC regulations. INEC’s current regulations specifically provide procedures for changing the type of primary already submitted to the Commission, including the requirement to notify INEC and state reasons for the proposed change.”

He stated that any unilateral attempt to replace or substantially alter the Kaduna primary process without the required constitutional authority, consultation and regulatory compliance could raise serious questions of legality and internal democracy.

Muhammad averred that the appeal was for fairness, transparency and respect for established democratic procedures, pointing out that every aspirant and every member deserved confidence that the process would not be changed in a manner that unfairly affected participation or the outcome.

He also appealed to Henry Seriake Dickson, Mr Peter Obi, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Kaduna State leadership and all NDC stakeholders to carefully examine the matter and ensure that no action was taken outside the party’s constitutional framework and the applicable requirements of INEC.

“Kaduna State is too important to the political development of the NDC for an avoidable internal dispute to undermine the confidence of its members and supporters. A transparent and lawful primary process will strengthen the party, regardless of which aspirant ultimately emerges,” he said.