The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, Taraba State, has fixed April 29, 2026, for the hearing of a suit challenging the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) state congress.
The case was instituted by a chairmanship aspirant, Alhaji Abdulhadi Haruna Hadi Lau, who alleged that he was unjustly excluded from the process that produced a consensus candidate during the party’s recently concluded state congress.
Lau, who dragged the party before the court, maintained that he did not step down for any candidate, contrary to claims circulating within the APC. He argued that the process that led to the emergence of the party’s state chairman lacked transparency and fairness.
“The congress was conducted without my knowledge because I did not see the election committee and the appeal committee. If they were on the ground, they ought to have met with all the contestants before the congress, but that did not happen,” he said.
The aspirant further alleged that officials assigned to conduct the congress were not allowed to properly engage with contestants prior to the exercise, claiming the committees were hijacked and deliberately kept away from some aspirants, including himself.
Lau, who displayed a receipt for his purchased chairmanship nomination form before journalists, expressed disappointment that the party leadership failed to explain why he and his supporters were allegedly excluded from the caucus meeting that produced the consensus candidate.
“I did not step down for anybody. I bought my form and was prepared to contest, but the process was not transparent,” he insisted.
He added that he had formally petitioned the process and approached the court seeking redress, stressing that the alleged compromise left him with no option but to challenge the outcome legally.
The suit, marked FHC/JAL/CS/5/2026, is between Abdulhadi Haruna and two others. It was mentioned on Friday before the presiding judge, Justice Mashkur Salisu, who subsequently adjourned the matter to April 29, 2026, for hearing.
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