THE outrage over the  emergence of Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada as preferred Gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nassarawa State is far from been over as a chieftain of the party, Honourable Tari Trochan has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to disqualify the lawmaker for holding dual party membership .

The Amended Electoral Act criminalizes dual membership of political parties by an individual .

In the originating summons filed on May 8, 2026 , the plaintiff told the court that the defendant’s action violates paragraph 178 of the constitution of Nigeria that mandates membership of a political party and not dual membership or multiple as well as article 9,20.2 and 3 of the All Progressives Congress (APC) constitution.

In the originating summons, senator Wadada has seven days to show course as to why an order restraining him from participating in the on-going screening process of the APC ahead of the 2027 elections should not be granted .

The plaintiff specifically  prayed the court to disqualify the aspirant as well as to declare as null and void any screening participated by the lawmaker  as well as restrain the Nassarawa state Working Committee of the APC from supervising the screening with senator Wadada as participant .

The plaintiff argued that the lawmaker cannot validly and legally maintain membership rights , privileges and political benefits in two political parties simultaneously, “especially in the surreptitious manner done by the first defendant by resigning from the Social Democratic Party on August 20, 2025 as announced by the Senate President on the floor of the  Senate on 22, April 2026 and joining the All Progressives Congress sometime in October , 2025 but still continued to occupy and exercise the office of chairman of committee on Public Accounts, conventionally reserved for opposition minority parties in the Senate for the sake of governance, accountability and retaining the same position untill 22,April 2026 cannot be legally said or deemed to have effectively ceased membership of SDP before the said 22,April 2026.”

The court, while requesting the defendant to enter appearance in the originating summons ,stated that:
“If the defendant do not enter appearance within the time and at the place above mentioned ,such orders will be made and proceedings may be taken as the judge may think just and expedient.”

The summon is to be served on the defendant , the National chairman of the All Progressives Congress , the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission as well as the National chairman of the Social Democratic Party.

The order also seeks to restrain Senator Wadada from participating in the primaries of the APC for the office of Governor of Nassarawa state .