The bid by the member of the House of Representatives representing Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency of Gombe State, Ali Isa JC, to return to the House has suffered a temporary setback as a Federal High Court sitting in Gombe on Wednesday nullified the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election which produced him as the party’s candidate.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Vera E. Ibrahim, the court ordered the APC to conduct a fresh primary election within 30 days and barred Ali Isa JC, a former Chief Whip of the House, from participating in the rerun.
The court held that Ali Isa JC was not eligible to contest the primary because his name was not contained in the APC membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within the period prescribed by law.
The court found that Ali Isa joined the APC 16 days before the party’s primary election held on 16 May 2026, and that there was no evidence before it establishing that his name was included in the membership register submitted to INEC 21 days before the primary, as required under Section 77 of the Electoral Act.
Justice Vera Ibrahim further said the issue before the court was not merely whether Ali Isa was a member of the APC, but whether the party complied with the statutory requirements governing the submission of its membership register to INEC.
The court consequently nullified the primary that produced him as the APC candidate and directed the party to conduct a fresh primary in accordance with the law.
Ali Isa, who was elected to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), served as Minority Whip before defecting to the APC shortly before the party’s primary.
He subsequently emerged as the APC candidate for the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency.
The legal challenge was instituted by Alfred John Atajiri, who approached the court after Ali Isa was declared the winner of the APC primary.
Alfred Atajiri had argued that Ali Isa was not a valid member of the APC at the time of the primary and therefore lacked the qualification to participate in the election.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Alfred Atajiri, Mr Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa, welcomed the decision, saying it was consistent with the reliefs sought by his client.
The judgment has now paved the way for a fresh APC primary to select the party’s candidate for the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency, subject to any appeal arising from the decision.
Efforts to get the reaction of Ali Isa JC failed, as he could not be reached as of the time of filing this report. Neither could any of his legislative aides be reached.