Court adjourns APGA Ibi/Wukari Federal Constituency suit to Monday

The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, Taraba State, has adjourned until Monday next week for further hearing in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) leadership and candidacy dispute over the Ibi/Wukari Federal Constituency seat.

The suit was instituted by Pius Sabo against APGA, the party’s candidate, Mathias Agbu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Sabo, as observed by The Guardian, is asking the court to declare him the rightful candidate of APGA for the forthcoming elections, expressing dissatisfaction over the exclusion of his name from the list of aspirants who contested for the House of Representatives ticket on the party’s platform.

Speaking with journalists after proceedings, Sabo’s counsel, John Odekina, said his client had subjected his witness to rigorous cross-examination but remained confident in the case.

“Our client is the rightful candidate of the party, and we are asking the court to do the needful,” Odekina said.

However, counsel to Mathias Agbu, Pius Danba Pius, urged the court to dismiss the suit, citing recent Supreme Court decisions on membership of political parties.

He argued that the APGA membership register tendered as evidence before the court did not contain Sabo’s name, insisting that the plaintiff was not a registered member of the party.

Pius maintained that the party’s guidelines and the evidence presented before the court clearly established Agbu’s position as the rightful candidate of APGA for the constituency.

He therefore urged the court to strike out the case and recognise Agbu as the party’s candidate for the Ibi/Wukari Federal Constituency.

Also supporting Agbu’s position, APGA’s counsel, Barrister Longs Lungna Takdok, argued that Sabo had failed to establish a case against the defendants.

Takdok urged the court to dismiss the suit, paving the way for Mathias Agbu to fly the party’s flag in the 2027 general elections.

The court, as observed by The Guardian, subsequently adjourned the matter until Monday next week for continuation of proceedings.