The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 19, 2026, to deliver judgment in a suit challenging former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial District.
Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo reserved judgment after lawyers representing the parties adopted their final written addresses in the pre-election dispute.
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, 2026, primary. Obaro is asking the court to declare him the lawful winner and order the APC to forward his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the 2027 election.
Obaro’s case challenges the conduct and outcome of the primary. He has also alleged that Bello was not properly screened and cleared before participating in the exercise.
Bello, however, has rejected the claims and urged the court to dismiss the suit. In his court filings, the former governor maintained that he won the primary with more than 72,000 votes, while Obaro received 188 votes. He also challenged the competence of the case, arguing that it failed to meet certain procedural requirements.
The APC and INEC have similarly asked the court to dismiss the challenge. INEC maintained in its response that it monitored the primary and that Bello emerged with the highest number of valid votes.
The November 19 judgment is significant because it could determine whether Bello’s APC nomination for Kogi Central proceeds without the present legal challenge or whether the party’s candidate selection faces a judicial setback ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Bello, who governed Kogi State from 2016 to 2024, secured the APC ticket at the May 2026 primary. The court’s decision will provide a legal determination on the dispute over his emergence as the party’s senatorial candidate.
