The legal battle over the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the 2027 Delta South Senatorial election has intensified as former Chairman of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Prince Michael Diden, popularly known as Ejele, presses ahead with his court challenge over the party’s primary election.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday fixed July 6, 2026, for the definite hearing of the suit after Justice Mohammed Garba Umar directed all parties to file and exchange all outstanding court processes before the substantive hearing.
Prince Diden is asking the court to declare him the authentic winner of the APC direct primary election conducted on May 18, 2026, maintaining that he secured the highest number of lawful votes cast during the exercise.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Diden’s counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Bankole Joel Akomolafe, informed the court that although the matter was slated for hearing, the statement of defence filed by Senator Joel Thomas Onowakpo was only recently served on his legal team despite having been filed earlier, leaving insufficient time to prepare an appropriate response.
Following submissions by counsel, Justice Umar adjourned the matter to July 6 by agreement of the parties and directed that all pending processes be regularised before the next hearing.
The court also ordered that fresh hearing notices be served on all parties in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1094/2026 to ensure the case proceeds without further procedural delays.
While the APC was represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lukman Fagbemi, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), though reportedly served with hearing notices, was not represented in court.
In the suit, Diden alleges that Senator Onowakpo unlawfully declared himself winner of the APC primary using manipulated and forged results, contrary to the party’s approved procedure for announcing the outcome of the exercise.
He further contends that the APC National Working Committee had directed that collation and official declaration of the primary election results would be conducted in Abuja after receiving returns from across the district, alleging that the directive was ignored when Senator Onowakpo publicly declared himself winner.
According to Diden, the authentic ward-by-ward results in his possession show that he polled 96,893 votes, while Senator Onowakpo scored 31,918 votes across the eight local government areas that make up Delta South Senatorial District.
He is therefore asking the court to declare him the valid winner of the APC primary, direct the party to forward his name to INEC as its candidate for the 2027 Delta South Senatorial election, and compel INEC to accept his nomination.
Meanwhile, a close political ally of Prince Diden has expressed confidence that the former DESOPADEC chairman will emerge victorious when the matter comes up for hearing.
Speaking after Wednesday’s proceedings, the ally said the case is backed by what he described as overwhelming documentary evidence, including ward-by-ward election results, and expressed optimism that the court would uphold what he called “the true outcome of the primary election.”
The outcome of the case is expected to shape the APC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections in Delta South, with the court’s decision likely to determine who ultimately flies the party’s flag in the senatorial contest.
