The Federal High Court in Gombe State has sacked Ali J.C. as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency after nullifying the party’s primary election that produced him.
The court also ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) to conduct a fresh primary election for the constituency, while preventing Ali from participating in the new exercise.
Justice Vera Ibrahim delivered the judgment after finding that Ali’s name was not contained in the APC membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within the period required by law.
The court based its decision on Section 77 of the Electoral Act, which requires political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before conducting their primary elections.
The court was told that Ali joined the APC 16 days before the primary was held on May 16, 2026.
Justice Ibrahim held that the issue before the court was not simply whether Ali was a registered member of the APC.
Rather, the court considered whether the party complied with the legal requirement for submitting its membership register to INEC before the primary.
The judge also found that neither the APC nor INEC provided enough evidence to establish that Ali’s name appeared on the relevant membership register submitted within the required period.
The court relied on recent decisions of the Supreme Court in reaching its decision, particularly in distinguishing disputes over ordinary party membership from cases involving compliance with legal requirements governing party registers.
Consequently, the May 16 primary was declared invalid and the APC was directed to organise another primary election in accordance with the Electoral Act.
The ruling has created fresh uncertainty over who will represent the APC in the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency as preparations continue ahead of the 2027 general election.
The case was brought before the court over the validity of the APC primary and the eligibility of the candidate produced by the exercise.
Following the judgment, counsel to the plaintiff, Ibrahim Aliyu, said the ruling reinforced the requirement for political parties to follow the law when organising their internal elections.
