A faction of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), operating under the Akida-Left Faction, has instituted a suit at the Federal High Court seeking the removal of former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, as the party’s purported presidential candidate, and Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed as its National Chairman.
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/444/2026, was filed on October 20, 2026, according to a press statement issued by the Convergence for a Working People’s Political Alternative (COPA) and dated October 21.
COPA, which described the PRP Akida-Left Faction as one of its affiliates, said the action was instituted against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mallam Falalu Bello, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and Donald Duke over the disputed leadership and presidential candidacy of the party.
In the statement signed by Ayódele Ademiluyi, Lead Counsel to the faction and Co-Chairperson of COPA, the plaintiffs are seeking an order directing INEC to remove Duke’s name from its records as the PRP presidential candidate and replace it with that of Dr. Salih, whom the faction described as a long-standing revolutionary socialist and the party’s valid presidential candidate.
The plaintiffs are also asking the court to direct INEC to remove Baba-Ahmed’s name from its portal as the party’s National Chairman.
They are seeking an order recognising Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudu as the duly elected National Chairman of the PRP, arguing that the process that produced Baba-Ahmed was illegal.
The suit comes amid a protracted dispute over the leadership and candidate selection process within the PRP ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC’s official website currently lists Baba-Ahmed as the party’s National Chairman, while the commission’s records also reflect the leadership structure associated with his faction.
In a separate legal development, the Federal High Court in Abuja had, on September 30, dismissed an earlier suit challenging Duke’s emergence as the PRP presidential candidate.
The earlier case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, was filed by an aggrieved party aspirant, Yakubu Kingsley, who questioned the validity of Duke’s nomination.
Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed the suit, holding that it was statute-barred because it was filed outside the constitutionally prescribed period for pre-election matters. The court also ruled that the plaintiff had failed to establish his claims on the merits.
However, the latest action, according to COPA, raises further questions over the party’s leadership and the recognition of its presidential candidate.
