The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and its Rivers State governorship candidate, Kieghe Nature Dumale, have approached the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, seeking to stop the All Progressives Congress (APC) from participating in the 6 February 2027 governorship election.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the APC ineligible to nominate a candidate for the election and compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the party and its candidate, Ogundu Kingsley Chinda, from the list of eligible contestants.
The suit, marked FHC/PH/CS/193/2026, lists INEC as the first defendant and the APC as the second defendant.
At the centre of the legal dispute is an allegation that the APC failed to comply with statutory requirements concerning the submission of its membership register to INEC before conducting its governorship primary.
In an 18-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the suit, Dumale alleged that the APC’s nomination process in Rivers State violated Section 77(5) to (7) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
He argued that INEC ought to have examined the party’s membership records and enforced the relevant provisions of the law before publishing the final list of candidates for the governorship election.
The plaintiffs relied on a Supreme Court judgment delivered on 24 September 2026 in Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, involving INEC and the Zenith Labour Party. They maintained that the ruling affirmed the validity of the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act and reinforced the commission’s responsibility to ensure compliance by political parties.
They also referred to an announcement by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, that the commission would study the judgment and take appropriate steps to implement its implications.
However, the plaintiffs accused INEC of failing to apply the same standard to the APC’s Rivers State governorship nomination.
They further cited an alleged statement by the commission on 13 October, in which INEC reportedly said it had applied the Supreme Court’s decision in preparing the final list of candidates, excluding parties that failed to meet the relevant statutory requirements.
The plaintiffs’ central argument concerns the membership register the APC submitted to INEC before conducting its primaries and the subsequent nomination of Ogundu as its governorship candidate.
According to Dumale’s affidavit, the APC notified INEC in a letter dated 20 April 2026 that its primaries for the 2027 general elections would commence on 15 May.
The party also reportedly submitted its membership register to the commission on 20 April, in accordance with INEC’s revised timetable and the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Among the documents attached to the court processes are the revised electoral timetable and an extract from the APC membership register for Ward 3B in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Dumale alleged that the register, identified as Exhibit E, did not contain Ogundu’s name, although the APC subsequently presented him to INEC as the winner of its governorship primary conducted on 21 May 2026.
The affidavit stated that the last person recorded in the register was Ibrahim Haruna, who allegedly registered on 8 February 2026.
Dumale maintained that the register was submitted to INEC 21 days before the APC’s initially announced commencement date for its primaries.
The affidavit stated: “Exhibit E does not contain the name Chinda Kingsley Ogundu, but the 2nd Defendant forwarded the said name to the 1st Defendant as the person who won its primaries, which were conducted on the 21st day of May, 2026.”
The plaintiffs further alleged that Ogundu registered as an APC member on 27 April 2026, seven days after the party had submitted its membership register to INEC.
They contended that the timing of his alleged registration raised questions about his eligibility to participate in the party’s primary and subsequently emerge as its governorship candidate.
The court documents also reportedly include a temporary APC membership slip submitted alongside Ogundu’s INEC Form EC9 nomination documents, marked Exhibit F.
In addition, the plaintiffs attached an extract from the PDP membership register for Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, identified as Exhibit G, which they said listed Ogundu as a member of the party under registration number 74917.
The PRP and Dumale are relying on these documents to challenge the validity of the APC’s nomination, arguing that the candidate’s membership status should be assessed against the register submitted to INEC before the primary election.
The plaintiffs are seeking two principal reliefs from the court.
First, they want an order declaring the APC ineligible to field a governorship candidate in Rivers State for the election scheduled for 6 February 2027.
Second, they are asking the court to direct INEC to remove the APC and its candidate from the list of political parties eligible to participate in the election.
The case is being pursued by a legal team led by Dr Doueyi Fiderikumo.
The suit comes amid growing legal disputes over political party membership registers, candidate nominations and eligibility ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly following the Supreme Court’s interpretation of relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
No hearing date had been fixed for the case at the time of filing this report.
The allegations against the APC and the claims concerning Ogundu’s membership status remain the plaintiffs’ assertions and have not been established by a court. The filing of the suit does not, in itself, disqualify the APC or its candidate from the governorship election.
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