Yahaya Bello’s Kogi Central APC Ticket Hanging In The Balance As Court Fixes November 19 For Judgment
Reloaded News Desk
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 19, 2026, for judgment in a suit seeking to nullify former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Kogi Central Senatorial District in the 2027 election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date on Monday after parties in the case adopted their final written arguments.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1085/2026, was filed by Momoh Yusuf Obaro, an APC senatorial aspirant who contested the party’s May 18 primary.
Obaro is asking the court to declare him the lawful winner of the primary and compel the APC to submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for Kogi Central.
He maintains that he secured the majority of the lawful votes cast during the primary and that the party wrongly recognised Bello as its candidate.
Bello, however, has urged the court to dismiss the case, maintaining that he won the primary with 72,399 votes.
The former governor said Ibrahim Yakubu Adoke came second with 319 votes, while Obaro polled 188 votes.
The APC has also asked the court to dismiss the suit.
Bello’s emergence as the APC candidate followed the party’s direct primary conducted across the five local government areas in Kogi Central in May.
INEC subsequently listed Bello as the APC candidate for the senatorial district in its final list for the 2027 National Assembly election.
The November 19 ruling will determine whether the challenge succeeds or Bello’s nomination remains intact.
Bello is also facing separate ongoing criminal proceedings arising from allegations of financial misconduct during his tenure as Kogi State governor. He has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Those proceedings are separate from the present challenge to his senatorial nomination.
The development comes shortly after the Supreme Court restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 dealing with party membership registers and candidate nomination procedures. However, the Supreme Court ruling did not automatically invalidate previously conducted primaries or nominations; the legal effect on individual cases remains dependent on the facts and proceedings in each case.
For now, Yahaya Bello remains the APC candidate for Kogi Central, pending the Federal High Court’s decision on November 19.
Reloaded News — NEWS THAT INFORMS. MEDIA THAT TRANSFORMS
