APC Kogi Central Ticket: Court Fixes Nov 19 for Judgment on Yahaya Bello, Momoh Obaro Dispute

The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled November 19, 2026, to deliver its judgment on the legal battle surrounding the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket for Kogi Central ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date on Monday after all parties in the suit adopted their final written addresses and briefs of argument.

The legal battle was initiated by Momoh Yusuf Obaro, an APC senatorial aspirant for Kogi Central. Obaro dragged the APC, former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the court.

Obaro claims to be the lawful winner of the APC primary election conducted on May 18, 2026. He is praying the court to declare him the rightful candidate of the APC for the Kogi Central Senatorial district.

He also wants an order directing the APC to forward his name to INEC as its official flagbearer and a mandatory publication of his name as required by the Electoral Act.

In response, former Governor Yahaya Bello urged Justice Ekwo to dismiss the lawsuit, describing the plaintiff’s assertions as contrived and highly misleading.

Bello argued that the suit lacks merit and fails to follow proper legal procedures. Bello is insisting that he won the primary election in a landslide, polling 72,399 votes, and that Obaro came third with 188 votes behind the first runner-up, Ibrahim Yakubu Adoke, who scored 1,319 votes.

The former Kogi governor argues that the lawsuit is fundamentally flawed because it was not supported by an affidavit as required by law.

Justice Inyang Ekwo will rule on the matter on November 19, 2026, deciding who the APC candidate is between Bello and Obaro.