FCT Election: Court Orders INEC to Recognise ADC Candidates
Last update: January 20, 2026
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The FCT council election holds in February....
A court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish candidates submitted by the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, in respect of the February 21, Area Councils election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Justice Umar issued the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by 17 candidates of the ADC, challenging the refusal of INEC to give them electronic access to enable them contest for elective positions in the forthcoming Area Councils election.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja gave the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by 17 ADC candidates who challenged INEC’s refusal to grant the party electronic access to upload their details for the polls.
Umar ruled that the evidence presented by the plaintiffs was credible and deserving of “more probative value”, adding that they had proved their case and were entitled to the relief sought.
He directed INEC to recognise and publish the names of the plaintiffs as ADC candidates for the positions they contested in the party’s substitution primary election ahead of the 2026 FCT area council elections.
The judge also ordered INEC to grant the ADC electronic access to upload the candidates’ names, citing Sections 29, 31, 33 and 84 of Nigeria’s 2022 Electoral Act and INEC election guidelines.
Those affected include Jafaru Shaibu, Ayenajeyi Yakubu, Dauda Awode, Ezra Zaki, Sunday Abraham, Ayuba Adam, Jamilu Kabiru, Nuhu Madaki, Ibrahim Ali, Ogwuche Linus, Chibuike Anyika, Okechukwu Ironkwe, Godwin Adoga, Agada John, Onuoha Goodness, Mahrazu Bichi and Tobias Obechina.
The candidates told the court that they had emerged from substitution primaries conducted after the withdrawal of earlier nominees but were blocked from uploading their details because INEC did not recognise the signatures of ADC’s current national leadership, including Chairman David Mark.
