Eight disgruntled aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State have dragged the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo.
The plaintiffs are challenging their alleged disqualification from the party’s State House of Assembly primary elections.
The legal action, initiated at the Federal High Court in Uyo, names the aggrieved aspirants as Asuquo Okon, Uko Johnson, Kennedy Akpan, Effiong Bassey, Nsunwara Osung, Noah Okon, Nyoho Jackson, and Godwin Umontuen.
The plaintiffs are seeking judicial intervention to reverse what they deem an unjust exclusion from the democratic process.
Arrayed as respondents in the lawsuit are the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the APC, the party’s State Screening Appeal Committee, the APC National Leadership, and INEC.
The inclusion of the electoral umpire ensures that any potential outcome will directly impact the official processing of candidates for the upcoming legislative polls.
In the originating summons dated May 18, 2026, and filed by their legal counsel, Nsikak Ekpenyong and Uduak Ekanem, the applicants accused the respondents of blatant constitutional violations.
They argue that the conduct of the screening exercise for the 2026 State House of Assembly elections breached both the party’s guidelines and the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Among other reliefs, the aggrieved aspirants are seeking court declarations pronouncing their alleged disqualification as unconstitutional, unlawful, null, and void.
They maintain that they were denied a fair hearing and that the party leadership imposed arbitrary criteria unrecognized by Nigerian law. As of the time of filing this report, no specific date has been fixed for the hearing of the matter.
