The Federal High Court in Jalingo, Taraba State, has reserved judgment in a suit filed by Abdulhadi Haruna Lau seeking to nullify the All Progressives Congress (APC) state chairmanship primary election.
Justice Mashkur Salisu reserved the ruling on Wednesday after hearing submissions from lawyers representing the parties. A date for the ruling will be communicated to them.
Lau, an aspirant in the disputed APC chairmanship contest, approached the court after he was excluded from participating in the primary. He is asking the court to void the exercise, arguing that his exclusion was unlawful.
Addressing the court, counsel to the plaintiff, Musa Attah, SAN, submitted that Lau was qualified to contest the position but was prevented from taking part in the primary.
Attah also argued that the court had jurisdiction to determine the dispute, maintaining that the issues raised by his client were within the powers of the judiciary.
He rejected the assertion by counsel to the second defendant that Lau failed to pay his party dues for the 2023–2025 period. According to him, the aspirant made the required payment and received a receipt but was subsequently denied the document needed to contest.
“He was denied the form to contest after paying the money. A receipt of payment was issued to the plaintiff, but the receipt for the purchase of the intention form was not issued to him,” Attah argued.
However, counsel representing the APC, Festus Kayode, SAN, asked the court to strike out the case, contending that the documents submitted before it were properly executed.
Kayode further argued that the dispute arose from the internal affairs of the APC and urged the court not to assume jurisdiction over the matter.
He maintained that where a political party determines that an aspirant does not meet its requirements, such a decision should be addressed through the party’s internal mechanisms.
Counsel to the second defendant, John Okezie, also challenged Lau’s claim, arguing that while the aspirant paid for the expression-of-interest form, he failed to settle the penalty fee prescribed by the party’s constitution.
Okezie told the court that Lau had not presented evidence showing payment of the penalty fee or documentation from the APC National Working Committee confirming that he had fulfilled the requirement.
Through his legal team, Lau is asking the court to invalidate the chairmanship primary on the grounds that he was improperly excluded despite purchasing the relevant nomination forms and, as he contends, satisfying the conditions required to participate.
The aspirant maintains that he completed the prescribed processes and was qualified to contest but was denied access to the primary without a valid justification.
He further contends that the exclusion infringed on his constitutional rights and affected the principle of internal democracy within the APC.
Lau is therefore seeking judicial intervention, arguing that permitting the exclusion of aspirants who meet the requirements to participate in party primaries could weaken public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
With arguments from all sides concluded, the Federal High Court has reserved its ruling. The date will be communicated to the parties.
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