…says Party submitted wrong candidate’s name

_By Yakubu Wuyep, Jos_

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Dr. Adamu Aliyu won the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for Jos North State Constituency in Plateau State conducted on May 20, 2026.

The confirmation was made during the adoption of INEC’s Counter Affidavit to an Originating Summons by its counsel, F. Boma Alabi, OON, SAN.

Alabi told the court that the results contained in Exhibits APC 1, APC 2, and PL 4 Series attached to the APC’s counter affidavit “were not the actual results of the primary.” He said the 2nd Respondent, Abdulkadir Hassan, was not the winner.

According to him, the monitoring report submitted to INEC by its officials showed that the plaintiff, Dr. Aliyu, polled the highest number of votes and was the winner of the primary.

“The Certified True Copy of the said report, together with the attached results obtained on the day of the primary, is attached to this Counter Affidavit and marked as Exhibit INEC APC 1,” he said.

INEC urged the court to hold the suit as meritorious and to grant all the reliefs sought by Dr. Aliyu.

In its Written Address, the Commission’s counsel submitted:
“My Lord, I urge the court to hold that the 3rd Defendant discharged its constitutional and statutory mandate of monitoring the 1st Defendant’s primary for Jos North State Constituency held on May 20, 2026. Based on the report submitted by our officials who monitored the exercise, the plaintiff, Adamu Aliyu, won the primary conducted peacefully.”

He added that “the 1st Defendant ought to submit his name as its candidate for Jos North State Constituency of Plateau State,” and that “the only official electoral record before this honourable court emanated from the 3rd Defendant and it completely establishes the case of the plaintiff.”

Governor Caleb Mutfwang, on September 7, 2026, issued Certificates of Return to all APC candidates for the 2027 general election except that of Jos North, pending the determination of Suit No: FHC/Abj/cs/1618/2026 filed by Aliyu.

The plaintiff filed the Originating Summons on July 24, 2026, seeking answers to five questions and 12 reliefs. The supporting affidavit has 46 paragraphs and 13 exhibits. Exhibit 5 is INEC’s report on the APC State Assembly primaries in Plateau, including Jos North-North.

Dr. Aliyu contested the APC primary to pick the party’s candidate for the 2027 elections. He alleged that despite winning, the party forwarded the name of the 2nd Defendant to INEC.

INEC said it deployed officials to monitor the primary in line with its statutory duties and submitted a written report, now attached as Exhibit INEC APC 1.