Supreme Court Affirms Joshua Ishaku as APC Candidate for FCT Poll

By 𝔸bdulrazak Tomiwa

The Supreme Court has declared Joshua Ishaku the APC candidate for the 2026 Bwari Area Council chairmanship election.

In a 4–1 decision, the apex court overturned a Court of Appeal ruling that had previously recognized Haruna Audi as the party’s flagbearer.

Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur, delivering the lead judgment, adopted the dissenting view of Justice Okon Abang. The court found that the lower court wrongly dismissed the case as statute-barred, which unfairly prevented the merits of the suit from being heard.

Condemning the procedural block, the court held that the “inevitable conclusion is that the appellant was denied the opportunity to be heard” and was “denied fair hearing.” This highlights the judiciary’s stance against using technicalities to bypass justice in electoral matters.

The court further ruled that a political party’s “internal affairs” are not immune to judicial review. It maintained that the court must intervene whenever a party violates its own guidelines, the Electoral Act, or the constitutional rights of its members.

The justices clarified that because Ishaku was the actual winner of the primary, he was not required to exhaust internal party dispute mechanisms. Such requirements typically apply only to those who lost the initial contest and are seeking to challenge the result.

Consequently, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to immediately publish Ishaku’s name as the official APC candidate.

This final verdict concludes the legal battle over the Bwari chairmanship ticket ahead of the upcoming Federal Capital Territory polls.