Court hears suit challenging Duke’s PRP presidential ticket July 7

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The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed July 7 for the commencement of hearing in the suit challenging the emergence of former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party for the 2027 general election.

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Justice Mohammed Umar fixed the date on Monday after counsel for the plaintiff, Felix Ipogah, withdrew an ex parte application seeking leave to serve court processes on Duke.

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Ipogah told the court that the application had become unnecessary because the former governor had already filed a preliminary objection and supporting affidavit in response to the suit.

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Following the withdrawal, Justice Umar struck out the application and directed the plaintiff to serve hearing notices on the three defendants—the PRP, Duke and the Independent National Electoral Commission—ahead of the next hearing.

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The suit was filed by an aggrieved PRP presidential aspirant, Yakubu Kingsley, who is seeking to nullify Duke’s emergence as the party’s flagbearer.

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Kingsley, who contested the party’s May 25, 2026 presidential primary, alleged that Duke failed to satisfy the party’s eligibility requirements, including registration as a member and compliance with its screening guidelines.

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He also accused the party of conducting a flawed primary marred by widespread irregularities, including alleged over-voting in Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara states.

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According to the plaintiff, Bauchi recorded 760 votes despite having 593 registered party members, while Gombe returned 1,431 votes against 348 registered members. He also alleged that Kwara recorded 82 votes from a membership register containing only 55 names.

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Kingsley is asking the court to nullify Duke’s nomination, set aside the results from the affected states, declare him the valid PRP presidential candidate and restrain INEC from recognising Duke as the party’s flagbearer.

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In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, Kingsley contended that he fulfilled all nomination requirements, paid N20m for the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms, secured the required endorsements and was duly screened and cleared by the party.

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He further alleged that Duke’s name was absent from the PRP membership register submitted to INEC on May 4, 2026, the statutory deadline for political parties to submit their membership registers ahead of primary elections.

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The plaintiff also claimed that Duke did not physically participate in the party’s screening exercise held between May 15 and May 19, despite objections allegedly raised over his eligibility.

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The latest development follows an earlier adjournment of the case after the plaintiff sought time to effect service on Duke.

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At the previous proceedings, Justice Umar had adjourned the matter to enable substituted service after counsel informed the court that while INEC had been served, efforts to serve Duke had proved unsuccessful.

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However, Duke has since entered the proceedings by filing a preliminary objection, paving the way for substantive hearing to commence on July 7.

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