By Ahmad Saka
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Bauchi, challenging the eligibility of Tijjani Aliyu Mohammed, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) deputy governorship candidate, to contest the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election.
The party is asking the court to determine whether the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lawfully published Mohammed's name as the PRP's deputy governorship candidate despite allegations that his name was absent from the party's membership register submitted to the electoral body.
The suit, marked FHC/BAU/CS/70/2026, was instituted against INEC, Tijjani Aliyu Mohammed and the PRP.
APM's legal adviser, Barrister Jidauna Tula, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Bauchi, saying the action was intended to secure a judicial interpretation of relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 concerning the eligibility of the PRP candidate.
He said the suit sought the enforcement of Sections 77(4), 77(5) and 77(6) of the Electoral Act 2026.
According to Tula, the party is challenging INEC's publication of Mohammed's name on October 10, 2026, as the PRP's deputy governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
He said the party wanted the court to determine whether the publication complied with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and Sections 177(c) and 187(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
One of the questions submitted for determination, according to the legal adviser, is whether Mohammed's name was lawfully published when, according to the APM, it was absent from the PRP's register of members submitted to INEC on May 10, 2026.
The party is also asking the court to determine whether Mohammed's alleged continued membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as of May 10, 2026, affected the legality of his emergence as the PRP's deputy governorship candidate.
Tula further said the APM was challenging the PRP's compliance with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, which, according to the party's interpretation, requires political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC within the prescribed period before conducting their primaries.
He said the PRP submitted its membership register on May 10, 2026, and conducted its primary election on May 25, 2026.
The APM is consequently asking the court to declare that INEC's publication of Mohammed's name as the PRP's deputy governorship candidate was unlawful, illegal, null and void.
Among the reliefs sought is an order directing INEC to remove Mohammed's name from its final list of candidates for the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election.
The party's counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Luka Musa Haruna, is also seeking the court's interpretation of Section 187(2) of the Constitution, which provides for the application of relevant provisions concerning the qualification and disqualification of a governor to the office of deputy governor.
Last week, the APM also filed a separate suit at the Federal High Court in Bauchi challenging the eligibility of Senator Shehu Buba Umar, the PRP governorship candidate, to contest the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election.
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