Court hears suit challenging Duke’s PRP presidential ticket July 7

The Federal High Court in Abuja has set July 7 as the date to begin hearing a lawsuit contesting the selection of former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke as the presidential candidate for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in the 2027 general election.

Justice Mohammed Umar made the announcement on Monday after the plaintiff's lawyer, Felix Ipogah, withdrew an ex parte application. This application was initially sought to formally serve court documents on Duke. Ipogah explained that the application was no longer necessary, as Duke had already submitted a preliminary objection and supporting affidavit in response to the lawsuit.

The case was brought forward by Yakubu Kingsley, an aggrieved PRP presidential aspirant. Kingsley is seeking to invalidate Duke's nomination, asserting that Duke failed to meet the party's eligibility criteria, including proper membership registration and adherence to screening guidelines. He further contends that the party's presidential primary, held on May 25, 2026, was marred by significant irregularities, citing instances of over-voting in Bauchi, Gombe, and Kwara states. Kingsley provided specific examples, stating Bauchi recorded 760 votes despite having only 593 registered members, Gombe reported 1,431 votes against 348 registered members, and Kwara had 82 votes from a membership list of just 55 names.

Kingsley is asking the court to nullify Duke's nomination, discard the results from the contested states, declare him the rightful PRP presidential candidate, and prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing Duke as the party's flagbearer. In his suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, Kingsley argues that he fulfilled all nomination requirements, paid the N20 million fee for expression of interest and nomination forms, secured necessary endorsements, and was properly screened and cleared by the party. He also alleged that Duke's name was not on the PRP membership register submitted to INEC by the May 4, 2026 deadline and that Duke did not personally attend the party's screening exercise.