Fresh Twist As Court Rejects Move Challenging Donald Duke’s PRP Ticket

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by PRP presidential aspirant Yakubu Kingsley seeking to stop former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke from contesting the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed the case after holding that it was a pre-election matter that was filed outside the period prescribed by law. Kingsley had instituted the suit after the PRP announced the result of its presidential primary, in which Duke emerged as the party’s candidate.

The court held that under the applicable constitutional provision, a pre-election matter must be instituted within 14 days of the event, decision or action being challenged. Justice Umar consequently found that Kingsley’s case was statute-barred and declined jurisdiction to entertain it.

Kingsley had argued that the time limit should be calculated from June 6, when the party’s appeal committee communicated its decision on his complaint. The court rejected that position, holding that the relevant period began from the announcement of the primary result.

The judge also considered the substantive issues raised in the suit and rejected Kingsley’s challenge to Duke’s membership of the PRP. Kingsley had alleged that Duke was not a registered member of the party when its membership register was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on May 4.

Justice Umar held that questions concerning membership of a political party were, in the circumstances of the case, matters within the party’s internal affairs and were not justiciable.

Kingsley had also challenged Duke’s eligibility to participate in the primary, alleging that the former governor did not physically appear for the party’s screening exercise. The court rejected the claim, noting that although Kingsley relied on the party’s guidelines, he did not place the relevant guidelines before the court.

Another issue raised by Kingsley concerned alleged over-voting in the PRP primary results from Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara states. He had asked the court to nullify the results from the three states and declare him the party’s presidential candidate.

Justice Umar, however, held that Kingsley failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish the alleged over-voting.

The plaintiff had also sought an order directing INEC not to recognise Duke as the PRP presidential candidate and instead recognise him as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election. With the court’s dismissal of the suit, those prayers were not granted.

The case, which was filed against the PRP, Duke and INEC, had challenged Duke’s emergence from the party’s May 25 presidential primary, whose result was announced on May 26. The court’s ruling brings the particular challenge before Justice Umar to an end at the Federal High Court level, subject to any further legal steps available to the parties.