FCT poll: Supreme Court backs Joshua Ishaku as APC candidate

The Supreme Court has declared Joshua Ishaku as the valid candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2026 Bwari Area Council chairmanship election, overturning earlier rulings that recognised another aspirant.

In a split 4–1 judgment delivered on Monday, Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur, who read the lead decision, set aside the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had upheld Haruna Audi’s candidacy.

The apex court instead adopted the dissenting opinion of Justice Okon Abang at the appellate court, ruling that Ishaku’s suit was wrongly dismissed as statute-barred and that he had been denied a fair hearing.

It held that the dispute went beyond the party’s internal affairs, stressing that courts can intervene where constitutional rights and legal provisions are implicated. According to the justices, the principle requiring parties to exhaust internal dispute mechanisms is not absolute, particularly when party guidelines are breached.

The court further agreed that Ishaku emerged winner of the APC primary and therefore could not be compelled to exhaust internal remedies meant for aggrieved losers.

Allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court voided the Court of Appeal’s majority ruling and affirmed Justice Abang’s dissent, directing relevant authorities to recognise and publish Ishaku’s name as the APC candidate.

The case arose from the June 25, 2025 APC primary election in Bwari Area Council. Earlier, both the Federal High Court and the appellate court majority had dismissed Ishaku’s suit on the ground that it was filed out of time.

However, Justice Abang had argued that the cause of action could only arise when the rival candidate’s name was forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission, noting that time could not run against a litigant based on a concealed act.

With the Supreme Court’s ruling now adopting that position, the legal contest over the APC ticket for the council poll has been conclusively settled.