The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Benue State chapter, has cautioned aspirants and party stakeholders against purchasing nomination forms through unauthorized channels, stressing that the exercise has not yet commenced.

In a statement issued by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Agile Ordedoo Bem, on behalf of the State Chairman, Mr. Ohini Ojegbe, the party urged aspirants who had earlier purchased intent and expression of interest forms and participated in the primary process to remain patient.

The party explained that only intent and expression of interest forms had been sold so far, noting that the sale of nomination forms would begin at the NDC State Secretariat once the list of successful candidates is officially released.

According to the statement, the state leadership has not authorized any individual or group to sell nomination forms on its behalf and therefore disassociates itself from any advertisement or sale taking place outside the party secretariat.

The NDC warned aspirants against patronizing what it described as “black market” channels for nomination forms, either within or outside Benue State.

The party further disclosed that its national leadership was finalizing documentation relating to candidates across the country and would soon publish the official list for public and media consumption.

While assuring members of transparency in the process, the party expressed confidence in its chances of securing a majority of elective positions in Benue State and across Nigeria in the forthcoming elections.

The statement called on aspirants and stakeholders to await official communication from the party regarding the commencement of nomination form sales and the release of candidates’ names.

Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed July 1 for hearing in a suit challenging the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election in Delta South Senatorial District.

Justice Umar adjourned the matter to the date for hearing shortly after the case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1094/2026, was mentioned on Thursday.

While Prince Michael Diden is the plaintiff in the suit dated and filed May 30, Senator Joel Onowakpo Thomas, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respondents, respectively.

By the suit, Michael Diden is asking the court to declare him the winner of the May 18 direct primary election for the selection of the APC’s candidate for the 2027 senatorial election in the district, on the grounds that he scored the highest votes cast at the poll.

In the Writ of Summons filed on his behalf by his team of lawyers led by Mr. Bankole Joel Akomolafe, SAN, the plaintiff accused the 1st defendant of manipulating and announcing forged and fake results.

Michael Diden, in the statement of claim, stated that the National Working Committee of the APC, which organised the aforesaid primary election, announced the established procedures for the announcement of the result of the said election; that the collation and announcement of results would be conducted exclusively during an official briefing in Abuja after the submission of all results.

He averred that, contrary to the instructions, the 1st defendant immediately ran to various media outlets to pronounce himself the winner of the APC direct primary election for Delta South Senatorial District, Delta State, held on Monday, May 18, 2026, thereby allegedly misleading the public and particularly members of the senatorial district.

“The 1st Defendant connived and colluded with his cohorts to write forged results where he falsely declared himself the winner of the election. He did not only publish the forged results of the eight Local Government Areas under Delta South Senatorial District, Delta State, in various media outlets, he also recorded his cohorts publicly declaring the false result in a video that has gone viral to mislead the people, contrary to what actually transpired on the day of the election, where the plaintiff defeated the 1st Defendant with a wide margin,” he claimed.

The plaintiff further averred that the 1st defendant made the aforesaid representations fraudulently in that he knew they were false or was reckless, not caring whether they were true or false, notwithstanding the monitoring of the election by officials of the 3rd defendant.

“Contrary to the declaration of the false results announced by the 1st Defendant in the viral video pleaded in the suit, the Plaintiff, through his agents in all the wards of the eight Local Government Areas within Delta South Senatorial District, Delta State, has the authentic results of each ward intact, in which the Plaintiff defeated the 1st Defendant with a wide margin, scoring 96,893 votes as against the 1st Defendant’s 31,918 votes.”

The plaintiff added that, sequel to the unequivocal and overwhelming victory he won at the poll, the “leaders, stakeholders, elders, women, youths and registered members of the APC in the senatorial district wrote a formal petition to the party’s national headquarters to denounce and reject the fraudulent declaration of the 1st Defendant as the winner of the election.”

He added that his lawyers had written a similar complaint about “the desperate manipulation and the announcement of fake results of the Monday, May 18, 2026 election by the 1st Defendant” to the National Chairman of the 2nd defendant.

“The Plaintiff avers that the 1st Defendant, by his actions, has not only embarrassed all the contestants in the election but has also cast aspersions on the entire election process and asks this Honourable Court to grant the reliefs sought by the Plaintiff and put the record straight for all observers.”

Among the reliefs he is seeking from the court is a declaration that, being the aspirant who scored the highest number of valid votes cast at the APC primary election for Delta South Senatorial District, Delta State, held on Monday, May 18, 2026, and having satisfied the requirements of the Constitution, Electoral Act 2026, and the APC’s Direct Primaries Guidelines and Procedures, he be declared the winner and recognised as the APC candidate for the 2027 general election in Delta South Senatorial District.

He is also seeking an order directing the APC to immediately forward his name to INEC as the party’s candidate for Delta South Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.

Diden is further praying for an order directing INEC to accept and/or receive his name from the APC as the party’s candidate in the 2027 senatorial election in Delta South Senatorial District.

A fresh legal battle has erupted over the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship primary in Benue State, as one of the aspirants, Chief Joseph Waya, has dragged the party’s governorship candidate, Herman Hembe, to the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the validity of his emergence.

In the suit, Waya is seeking to invalidate the governorship primary purportedly conducted between May 22 and 24, 2026, with the result declared on May 25, 2026.

According to court documents, the plaintiff contended that the primary election was not conducted by the competent organ of the party as required by the ADC Constitution. 

He argued that the exercise was conducted by a structure whose congresses had earlier been nullified by a court judgment delivered on April 29, 2026.

Waya further challenged Hembe’s eligibility to contest the primary, alleging that the former House of Representatives member was under a subsisting three-month suspension imposed by the Benue State Executive Committee of the ADC on March 27, 2026.

Part of the court filing stated that Hembe was, by virtue of Article 9(iii) of the party’s constitution, not eligible to be voted for at the time of the primary election.

The suit reads in part: “On the date of the said primary, the 2nd Defendant was under a subsisting three (3) month suspension imposed by the State Executive Committee of the 1st Defendant on 27 March 2026 and was, by Article 9(iii) of the Constitution of the 1st Defendant, not eligible to be voted for.”

The plaintiff also alleged non-compliance with party guidelines and maintained that aspects of the exercise were conducted outside the approved dates.

Before approaching the court, Waya and another governorship aspirant, Peter Adejoh, had separately petitioned the national leadership of the ADC, raising concerns over the conduct of the primary and calling for a review of the outcome.

The two aspirants also urged the party to constitute a fresh governorship electoral committee made up of persons who are neither indigenes nor residents of Benue State in order to guarantee neutrality, transparency, and credibility in any future primary process.