The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the nomination of Major General Nuhu Angbazo (retd.) as the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Nasarawa State for the 2027 election, holding that the primary election that produced him was inconclusive because no election was conducted in Karu Local Government Area.
The court consequently ordered the ADC to conduct a fresh governorship primary election in the 11 wards of Karu Local Government Area before it could validly nominate a candidate for the forthcoming governorship election.
Delivering judgment, Justice Garba Umar also restrained Angbazo from parading himself as the governorship candidate of the ADC and barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising him as the party’s candidate.
The judgment followed a suit instituted by a former Minister of Environment, Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, who challenged the conduct and outcome of the ADC governorship primary election in Nasarawa State.
Abdullahi had participated in the primary alongside Angbazo and the Senator representing Nasarawa South Senatorial District, Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo.
The dispute centred on the exclusion of Karu Local Government Area from the declaration of the primary election results, despite its inclusion among the local government areas expected to participate in the exercise.
In determining the matter, the court held that the primary election could not be regarded as conclusive when voting had not taken place in Karu Local Government Area.
According to the judgment, the defendants admitted that no election was conducted in Karu, a development which rendered the declaration of Angbazo as the party’s governorship candidate premature.
The court reasoned that where an election was not conducted in an area required to participate in a party primary, the exercise could not be treated as concluded without addressing the outstanding voting process.
Consequently, Justice Umar set aside Angbazo’s nomination and directed the ADC to conduct the outstanding primary election in all 11 wards of Karu Local Government Area.
Explaining the effect of the judgment, the orders were described as follows:
“The orders are simple and direct. The nomination of General Nuhu Angbazo as the candidate of the ADC has been set aside by the court, and he has been restrained from parading himself as the candidate of ADC for the governorship election in 2027.”
The explanation further stated that the court declared the exercise inconclusive because the results from Karu were not included in the declaration that produced Angbazo.
“Secondly, the election exercise that produced him was declared inconclusive in the sense that the results of Karu is not part of the declaration that was made, because defendants admitted that no elections took place in Karu. That’s the argument.”
The judgment therefore established that the absence of voting in Karu was a defect in the process leading to the declaration of the party’s candidate.
According to the account of the decision, the court held that if no primary election took place in Karu, the exercise could not be considered concluded, making it necessary for the party to conduct voting in the affected area before determining its validly nominated candidate.
The court’s directive requires the ADC to conduct the outstanding exercise across the 11 wards of Karu Local Government Area.
The order does not require the party to repeat the entire governorship primary election across Nasarawa State but specifically addresses the outstanding exercise in Karu.
Justice Umar further restrained INEC from recognising Angbazo as the ADC governorship candidate until the nomination process is validly concluded.
The court also prohibited Angbazo from continuing to present himself as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
“INEC has been restrained from recognising Angbazo and Angbazo himself has been restrained from parading himself as the candidate of the party. So, that is the position,” the explanation of the judgment stated.
The ruling represents a setback for Angbazo, whose nomination had been challenged by Abdullahi following the disputed primary election.
The plaintiff had initially approached the court seeking the inclusion of votes from Karu Local Government Area which he claimed had been rejected, with a view to determining and declaring the rightful winner of the primary election.
However, the court’s decision addressed the dispute by declaring the exercise inconclusive and directing that a fresh primary be conducted in Karu before the party could validly produce its governorship candidate.
The decision places an obligation on the ADC to complete the outstanding electoral process in accordance with the judgment rather than rely on the earlier declaration that produced Angbazo.
It also means that INEC cannot recognise Angbazo as the party’s governorship candidate under the nomination set aside by the Federal High Court, subject to any subsequent order of a higher court.
The controversy over the party’s governorship primary had earlier attracted attention following complaints about the conduct of the exercise in some local government areas.
The ADC electoral committee had previously identified irregularities affecting Karu and other local government areas during the primary election process.
Post Title: “Primary Election Was Inconclusive” — Court Nullifies Angbazo’s ADC Governorship Nomination, Orders Fresh Primary In Karu By Naijaonpoint.