By Musa Baba Adamu with agency report
The candidacy of Sadiq Tafida for the Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency seat under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is facing a legal challenge following a lawsuit filed by fellow aspirant Leah Olusuyi.
Olusuyi has approached the Federal High Court in Jalingo, seeking to nullify the outcome of the APC primary election held on May 16, 2026, which produced Tafida as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general election.
According to court documents filed through her lawyer, P.D. Pius, the plaintiff argues that the process that led to Tafida’s emergence failed to satisfy the legal requirements for a valid primary election.
She is asking the court to determine whether the exercise conducted by the party complied with applicable electoral and party regulations.
The suit, filed within the 14-day period prescribed by the Electoral Act for pre-election disputes, preserves Olusuyi’s right to challenge the nomination process before the courts.
Although a hearing date has yet to be fixed, the case is expected to attract significant attention as political parties continue to grapple with disputes arising from their primary elections.
The development represents another instance of post-primary litigation within the APC, where aggrieved aspirants have increasingly turned to the courts to contest the outcome of internal party contests.
Political analysts note that such disputes have become a recurring feature of Nigeria’s electoral process, often extending political battles beyond party primaries and into the judicial arena.
