JUST IN: COURT HALTS INEC, APC FROM RECOGNISING ONDO CONGRESSES AMID LEGAL CHALLENGE

 COURT HALTS INEC, APC FROM RECOGNISING ONDO CONGRESSES AMID LEGAL CHALLENGE


A Federal High Court sitting in Akure has granted an interim injunction restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from recognising or acting on the outcome of recently conducted ward and local government congresses in Ondo State.

The order was issued on March 2, 2026, by Justice T.B. Adegoke following an ex-parte application filed by aggrieved members of the APC in the state.

Applicants Challenge Conduct of Congresses

The suit was instituted by Lawrence Oladimeji Adebayo and eight other applicants, who are acting on behalf of 7,427 APC members allegedly excluded from the party’s 2026 ward and local government congresses in Ondo State.

In the application before the court, the applicants listed INEC and the APC as respondents. They alleged that the conduct of the congresses breached provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and the party’s internal guidelines regulating congresses.

After reviewing the affidavit of extreme urgency and hearing submissions from counsel to the applicants, the court granted several interim reliefs.

Court Orders Status Quo

Among the orders granted, the court restrained INEC from acknowledging, accepting, or validating the ward and local government congresses reportedly conducted by the APC on February 18 and 21, 2026, in Ondo State.

The court also restrained the APC from holding, proceeding with, or concluding its planned state congress scheduled for March 3, 2026, or on any other date, pending the determination of the suit.

In addition, the court directed both INEC and the APC to maintain the status quo ante bellum — meaning the situation as it existed before the disputed congresses — pending the hearing of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

Justice Adegoke further ruled that no party should take any steps capable of prejudicing the determination of the substantive application before the court.

Next Legal Steps

The interim orders will remain in effect pending the hearing and final determination of the motion for interlocutory injunction.

The case arises from internal disagreements within the APC in Ondo State over the conduct and legitimacy of the party’s congresses. Further proceedings are expected to clarify the legal standing of the disputed exercises.

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