RismadarVoice Reporters
October 2, 2026
Action Democratic Party presidential aspirant, Dr Johnson Emmanuel Chukwuka, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the nomination of Abbas-Bin Aliyu as the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
Chukwuka, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1853/2026, is challenging the validity of the ADP presidential primary reportedly conducted on May 29 and 30, 2026, which produced Aliyu as the party’s candidate.
The aspirant is asking the court to declare the primary invalid and set aside the outcome through which Aliyu was declared the winner.
He is also seeking an order declaring him the duly elected presidential candidate of the ADP from the disputed primary and directing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove Aliyu’s name and recognise him instead.
Chukwuka contends that the nomination process failed to comply with Sections 29, 77, 84, 86 and 88 of the Electoral Act 2026, as well as provisions of the ADP’s guidelines governing its presidential primary.
The claims remain allegations before the court, which has yet to determine whether the primary or Aliyu’s nomination violated the relevant electoral provisions.
The legal dispute comes amid a separate controversy within the ADP over an alleged unauthorised upload of a presidential nomination form on the INEC portal.
The party reportedly petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over the disputed upload, alleging that former staff member and former INEC liaison officer Fatima Mustapha handled the document after her authority over candidate-upload matters had been withdrawn.
The ADP also reportedly wrote to the INEC chairman requesting the preservation of electronic audit trails, login records and IP addresses connected with the transaction and asking for an investigation into how the document was uploaded.
An internal memorandum dated September 2, 2026, also reportedly requested an explanation from Aliyu concerning whether he had any knowledge of or involvement in the disputed transaction.
Chukwuka’s legal team argues that the development raises additional questions about the process through which Aliyu’s nomination was submitted to the electoral commission.
However, the allegations concerning the disputed upload have not been established by the court, and Aliyu’s nomination remains the subject of the pending legal challenge.
The Federal High Court is expected to determine the validity of the disputed presidential primary and the competing claims over the ADP’s ticket for the 2027 election.
