By The Pivot Online
The legal battle over the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the Akoko South-East/Akoko South-West Federal Constituency in the 2027 House of Representatives election has moved into another phase, with the Federal High Court sitting in Akure reserving judgment in the suit filed by Dr Victor Ategbole against the emergence of Hon. Gboyega Adefarati as the party’s candidate.
Justice Toyin Adegoke reserved judgment after hearing submissions from counsel representing Ategbole, Adefarati, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC.
The case centres on the APC National Working Committee’s decision to recognise Adefarati as the winner of the party’s May 16, 2026 National Assembly primary for the constituency.
Ategbole, through his counsel, Dr Remi Peter Olatubora, SAN, is challenging the legality of the party’s decision, arguing that the result initially declared by the party’s returning officer should not have been overturned by a subsequent declaration.
The suit, marked FHC/A79/CS/59/2026, seeks the interpretation and application of relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, the APC Constitution and the party’s nomination guidelines.
Ategbole maintains that he was duly screened and cleared to participate in the primary and contends that his name appeared in relevant APC documents forwarded to INEC ahead of the exercise.
According to court reports, he is asking the court to declare him the lawful winner of the primary and direct the APC to issue him a Certificate of Return.
He is also seeking an order restraining the APC from forwarding Adefarati’s name to INEC as its candidate. Alternatively, he wants the party to withdraw Adefarati’s name, if already submitted, and replace it with his own.
Adefarati, however, has opposed the claims.
His counsel, Abiola Olawoye Olaniji, argued that Ategbole had been disqualified from participating in the primary and that any votes attributed to him could not constitute the basis for a valid declaration.
The court, having heard the arguments of the parties, reserved judgment, with the date to be communicated to the parties.
A CONTEST WITH A HISTORY
The latest dispute is not the first legal confrontation between the two politicians over the APC ticket for the federal constituency.
In the build-up to the 2023 general election, Ategbole had also challenged Adefarati’s emergence as the APC candidate following a disputed primary.
Adefarati won the party’s 2022 rerun primary with 71 votes against Ategbole’s 55 votes. The ensuing litigation eventually reached the Court of Appeal, which in April 2023 upheld Adefarati’s nomination and faulted the lower court’s decision that had nullified the APC primary.
The present case, however, concerns the 2027 APC primary conducted on May 16, 2026, and revolves principally around whether the party’s leadership had the authority to alter the initial declaration and recognise Adefarati as its candidate.
With judgment now reserved, the Federal High Court’s forthcoming decision could determine the immediate direction of the APC’s representation in the Akoko South-East/Akoko South-West federal constituency ahead of the 2027 general election.
The Pivot Online will continue to monitor the case and report the court’s eventual decision as it unfolds.