A presidential aspirant of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Yakubu Kingsley, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the emergence of former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
In suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, filed through his counsel, D.A. Sulyman, Kingsley joined the PRP, Duke, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first, second, and third defendants respectively.
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Kingsley is asking the court to nullify Duke’s nomination, arguing that the former governor was not a registered member of the party at the time required by law and the party’s internal guidelines. He is also seeking clarification on whether Duke’s emergence as flagbearer in the May 25 primary election, whose result was announced on May 26, was valid.
According to the originating summons filed on June 10, the plaintiff contends that Duke was not a registered member of the PRP as of May 4, when the party allegedly submitted its membership register to INEC, thereby rendering his participation in the primary invalid.
He further raised concerns over alleged electoral irregularities during the primary, including claims of over-voting in several states. Kingsley cited instances such as Bauchi State, where he alleged 593 registered members but 760 votes were recorded; Gombe State, with 348 registered members and 1,431 votes cast; and Kwara State, where 55 registered members reportedly produced 82 votes.
The aspirant is therefore asking the court to nullify results from the affected states, arguing that the alleged discrepancies undermine the credibility of the entire primary election.
Kingsley also wants the court to declare that Duke was not qualified to participate in the race, alleging non-compliance with screening procedures, including failure to physically appear at the party’s national secretariat during the stipulated screening exercise.
He is further seeking an order setting aside the results of the primary election in the affected states and compelling INEC not to recognise Duke as the PRP presidential candidate. Instead, he is urging the court to recognise him as the rightful flagbearer of the party.
In an affidavit deposed to personally, Kingsley stated that he is a registered member of the PRP, bearing membership card number 2A8D8B20B2, from Auchi III Ward in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.
He explained that he purchased the party’s nomination forms for N20 million, met all requirements, secured the necessary endorsements, and participated in the party’s screening exercise held between May 15 and May 19, 2026, at the PRP national secretariat in Abuja, where he was duly cleared.
Kingsley expressed surprise that Duke’s name appeared among cleared aspirants despite allegedly not attending the screening exercise alongside others.
He also alleged that Duke’s participation violated INEC guidelines requiring political parties to submit membership registers at least 21 days before primaries, and challenged the commission to produce the PRP’s submitted register as of May 4 to verify Duke’s membership status at the time.
The plaintiff further claimed that objections were raised within the party regarding Duke’s eligibility before the primary, but were allegedly disregarded. He also accused the party of conducting a flawed primary marked by irregularities and inflated vote counts.
According to him, once the allegedly unlawful votes are excluded, he would emerge as the winner of the presidential primary.
The Federal High Court has fixed June 22, 2026, for hearing of the suit before Justice Mohammed Umar, following the issuance and service of hearing notices on all parties.
The PRP had earlier screened three aspirants—Donald Duke, economist Dr Nnaoke Ufere, and Yakubu Kingsley—before conducting its presidential primary on May 25, where Duke was declared winner on May 26.
