Nigeria courts hear APC and PDP disputes over 2027 election primaries

Federal courts in Abuja have become venues for internal party battles ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections. A Federal High Court ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain the status quo in a Benue ticket dispute, while aggrieved aspirants in Ondo State, backed by Governors Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Hyacinth Alia, have filed suits challenging the party’s primary results and alleged candidate substitutions.

In the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Board of Trustees led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara sued INEC seeking recognition of a Turaki‑led interim National Working Committee. The Federal High Court dismissed the suit as an abuse of process, fined the plaintiffs N140 million and the lead counsel N10 million, and affirmed INEC’s recognition of the Abdulrahman‑led faction. The Turaki faction announced plans to appeal.

An Abuja Court of Appeal voided sections of the Electoral Act 2026 that regulated party membership registers and mandated direct primaries or consensus, ruling the provisions inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution. The same appellate court also set aside a lower‑court judgment that had nullified parts of INEC’s 2027 election guidelines, holding that the Youth Party lacked standing and that INEC’s administrative discretion is lawful.

These legal actions underscore deep fractures within Nigeria’s two largest parties and could shape candidate listings and campaign dynamics for the forthcoming general election.