By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo.
The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital on Wednesday again adjourned the suit challenging the conduct and outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship primary election to October 7, 2026.
The case, which seeks the nullification of the APC chairmanship primary election, came up before the court for definite hearing.
During the proceedings, the presiding judge, Justice Mashkur Salisu said the long adjournment of the matter to October 7th, 2026 was due to annual vacation of the court.
The counsel to the All Progressive Congress (APC) during argument told the court that the Plaintiff ( Hadi Lau) has from 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 not paid his dues.
The plaintiff agued that the Apc Chairman, Abubakar Bawa was not qualified to be APC chairman, adding he only joined APC in 2026 and cannot be a valid APC Chairman in the state.
“As at 2023, 2024 and 2025, the 3rd Defendant(Abubakar Bawa) was not a member of APC and can’t say which member of APC has paid dues or not.
The payment of dues by the Plaintiff is regular and properly made on 25th February 2026. The 3rd Defendant who has been a PDP member until March 2026 cannot complain about APC affairs prior to when he became a member.
The statement by the 3rd Defendant (Abubakar Bawa) that the Plaintiff ( Hadi Lau) should pay his 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 dues before his qualify to be APC chairman shows that Abubakar who only joined APC in 2026 cannot be a valid APC Chairman” plaintiff told the court.
The plaintiff further agued that there is no provision in APC constitution that dues must be paid before the 3rd day of March.
The plaintiff said the 3rd Defendant challenging the qualification of Hadi Lau is not allowed in an action commenced by originating summons, noting that If the 3rd Defendant wants to challenge the qualification of the Plaintiff, he should file a separate suit or file a counter claim.
“He can only defend the issues in the originating summons and not allowed to raise a fresh issue about the qualification of the Plaintiff. Besides, Abubakar Bawa who recently joined APC should not be heard challenging the qualification of old time APC members. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands” he noted.
The plaintiff was asking the court to declare the chairmanship primary election invalid, alleging that the exercise did not comply with the provisions of the law and the party’s guidelines.
The suit is expected to determine the legality of the primary election and could have significant implications for the APC’s leadership in Taraba State.
The court fixed October7th, 2026, for hearing on the originating summons, when the substantive issues raised in the suit.
The outcome of the case is being closely monitored by party members, political stakeholders and observers across the state, given its potential impact on the APC’s internal leadership structure and political activities in Taraba State.