By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo.
As the skirmishes rocking the Taraba state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened, the Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo on Friday fixed April 29, 2026, for the hearing of a suit challenging the outcome of the recently state congress held in Taraba state.
The suit contests the emergence of Alhaji Abubakar Bawa as the party’s state chairman in the state.
The case, marked FHC/JAL/CS/5/2026, was filed by a chairmanship aspirant, Abdulhadi Haruna Lau, who alleged that he was unjustly removed from the process that produced a consensus candidate during the recently concluded congress.
Lau, who dragged the party to court, denied stepping down for any candidate, contrary to claims within the APC.
He argued that the process leading to the emergence of the state chairman lacked transparency and fairness.
“The congress was conducted without my knowledge because I did not see members of the election or appeal committees. If they were on ground, they should have engaged all contestants before the exercise, but that did not happen,” he said.
He further alleged that officials assigned to conduct the congress failed to properly interface with aspirants, claiming the committees were effectively sidelined and prevented from interacting with some contestants, including himself.
Lau while displaying a receipt of the purchased of his nomination form before newsmen, said he was disappointment that the party leadership did not 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 ready to contest, but the process was not transparent,” he insisted.
He noted that he had formally petitioned the process and approached the court for redress, maintaining that the alleged irregularities left him with no option but to challenge the outcome legally.
The matter was mentioned on Friday before the presiding judge, Justice Mashkur Salisu, who adjourned the case to April 29, 2026, for hearing.