APM sues INEC, PRP over Senator Shehu Buba’s governorship candidacy

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has instituted legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) over the governorship candidacy of Senator Shehu Buba Umar in Bauchi State.

The suit challenges the legitimacy of the primary election that produced the candidate ahead of the 2027 polls.
The case was filed at the Federal High Court in Bauchi on Friday, October 23.

The APM added Senator Buba and his running mate in the suit, revealing a violation of the Electoral Act by the electoral body regarding mandatory notifications for party primaries.

Briefing journalists on the development, the Legal Adviser of the APM, Jidauna Tula, stated that Senator Buba initially participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary on May 22, 2026. After his loss, he defected to the PRP, which subsequently conducted a fresh primary election on May 26 to field him as its flagbearer.

According to the APM, the timeline of the PRP primary violated Section 82 of the Electoral Act 2022, as amended. The legislation orders every political party to give INEC a minimum of 21 days’ notice before conducting any convention, congress, or primary election for candidate nomination.

Tula revealed that the PRP failed to meet the May 5 deadline required to notify the electoral body for a primary scheduled for May 26. 

“To our surprise, on October 10, 2026, INEC published his name as the Governorship candidate of the PRP. That is the final list published by INEC for the 2027 election. That is why we sued INEC and Shehu Buba.”

The legal adviser also alleged that the PRP’s deputy governorship candidate defected to the party after the official INEC deadline had elapsed. Meanwhile, the Federal High Court is yet to fix a date to commence hearings on the matter.