A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, adjourned till July 16 for hearing of a suit seeking to void the emergence of former Governor Donald Duke of Cross River state as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Mohammed Umar fixed the date after the plaintiff’s counsel, Felix Ipogah, sought an adjournment to enable them serve the 1st and 2nd defendants with a counter affidavit to their joint preliminary objection.
An aggrieved aspirant, Dr Yakubu Kingsley, has filed the suit to challenge the emergence of ex-Gov. Duke as presidential candidate of PRP.
Kingsley, through his lawyer, D.A. Sulyman, had sued PRP, Duke and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.
When the case was called on Tuesday, Ipogah informed the court that the matter was scheduled for hearing and that the plaintiff had filed a counter affidavit to the preliminary objection of the 1st and 2nd defendants (PRP and Duke) in the suit.
The lawyer, however, told the court that he had not been able to serve the process on the defendants and applied for an adjournment.
Nuel Akaputu, who appeared for 1st and 2nd defendants, and Azubuike Ugochukwu, who represented INEC, did not oppose the application and the trial judge adjourned the case till July 16 for hearing.
Kingsley, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, wants the court to determine whether Duke was dully returned as the presidential candidate of PRP in the May 25 primary election, in which its results was declared on the May 26, having not been a registered member of the party as at May 4, when the PRP’s membership register was submitted to INEC.
“Whether over voting in states like Bauchi, where the registered members of the 1st defendant in its membership database is 593 and the total votes cast was 760, in Gombe State the registered member was 348 and the votes cast was 1,431 and in Kwara State, the registered members is 55 while the vote cast was 82 votes, will not call for the nullification of the said primary election.”
He, therefore, sought a declaration that the ex-governor, not been a registered member of PRP, cannot participate in the party’s primary election held on May 25 where he was declared the winner on May 26.
He sought a declaration that Duke ought not to have been cleared for the presidential primary election contest, having not complied with the guidelines of the party to physically present for the screening at its national secretariat.
Kingsley, therefore, prayed the court for an order setting aside the results of the presidential election conducted in Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara respectively on the ground of over voting as well as an order declaring him as the presidential candidate of PRP for 2027 general elections, having complied with all the party’s guidelines and been a registered member of the party.
He also sought an order directing the commission not to recognise Duke as PRP’s presidential flagbearer or to delete his name from its database as the presidential candidate of the party and an order directing the electoral umpire to recognise him as PRP’s presidential candidate.
In a preliminary objection jointly filed by PRP and Duke, the defendants challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit and prayed the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction.
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