A presidential aspirant of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Yakubu Kingsley, has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the emergence of former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The suit, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, names the PRP, Donald Duke, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.
Through his counsel, D.A. Sulyman, Kingsley is asking the court to invalidate Duke’s nomination, alleging that he was not a duly registered member of the party at the time required under both electoral regulations and party guidelines.
According to court documents, Kingsley argues that Duke was declared winner of the PRP presidential primary conducted on May 25, 2026, despite allegedly not being listed as a registered party member when the PRP submitted its membership register to INEC on May 4.
The plaintiff also questioned the credibility of the primary election results, alleging cases of over-voting in several states. He claimed that in Bauchi State, 760 votes were recorded despite the party having only 593 registered members. Similar discrepancies were alleged in Gombe State, where 1,431 votes were reportedly cast against 348 registered members, and in Kwara State, where 82 votes were recorded despite only 55 registered members.
Kingsley is asking the court to declare Duke ineligible to contest the primary election and to rule that he should not have been cleared by the party’s screening committee. He further alleged that Duke failed to physically appear for the screening exercise at the party’s national secretariat, contrary to the stipulated requirements.
In addition to seeking the cancellation of results from the affected states, Kingsley wants the court to recognise him as the lawful PRP presidential candidate, arguing that he fulfilled all nomination conditions and remained a valid member of the party throughout the process.
He also requested an order restraining INEC from recognising Duke as the party’s candidate and directing the electoral commission to substitute his own name instead.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Kingsley stated that he purchased the party’s Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for ₦20 million and met all requirements for participation in the primary election, including securing the necessary endorsements from party members.
He maintained that he attended and participated in the party’s screening exercise held between May 15 and May 19, 2026, in Abuja, where he was cleared to contest.
Kingsley further alleged that objections were raised before the primary election regarding Duke’s eligibility but were ignored by party officials. He contended that the primary was marred by irregularities and manipulation, resulting in inflated vote figures that did not reflect the actual votes cast by eligible party members.
According to him, excluding the allegedly unlawful votes would make him the aspirant with the highest number of valid votes in the contest.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed June 22, 2026, for the hearing of the case.
The PRP had earlier screened and cleared three aspirants for its presidential primary election, including Donald Duke, economist Dr. Nnaoke Ufere, and Yakubu Kingsley. Following the primary election held on May 25, Duke was announced as the party’s presidential candidate on May 26.
The court is expected to begin hearing the matter on today.
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