Supreme Court Verdict Does Not Affect Shehu Buba’s Bauchi Governorship Candidacy — Legal Team
The legal team of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Senator Shehu Buba Umar, has rejected reports suggesting that his candidacy could be affected by the recent Supreme Court judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
In a statement signed by the Coordinator of the Senator Shehu Buba Umar Legal Team, Jibrin S. Jibrin, Esq., the lawyers said the September 24, 2026 judgment in Independent National Electoral Commission v. Zenith Labour Party should not be interpreted as automatically affecting Buba’s nomination for the 2027 governorship election.
The clarification followed a Daily Trust report of September 30, which listed Buba among politicians whose candidacies could potentially be affected by the judgment because they allegedly emerged late or after presenting themselves for elections on other political platforms.
The legal team described the inclusion of Buba in that category as “erroneous, misplaced and misconceived”, arguing that the circumstances surrounding his emergence as PRP governorship candidate were materially different.
The Supreme Court had on September 24 allowed INEC’s appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that invalidated provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 concerning political party membership registers and methods of conducting party primaries. Reports of the judgment indicate that the apex court restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Act.
According to Buba’s legal team, the senator joined the PRP early enough to satisfy the applicable statutory requirements and did not participate in the governorship primary of his former political party before moving to the PRP.
It therefore maintained that he could not properly be categorised as a candidate who emerged late or sought nomination on another platform after participating in an earlier primary.
The lawyers further argued that the Supreme Court case concerned the specific parties and circumstances before it and that neither Buba nor the PRP was a party to the litigation.
“Senator Shehu Buba or PRP is not a party to the matter,” the statement said, contending that the judgment should be applied in light of the particular facts surrounding his nomination rather than through a general assumption that every candidate who changed parties would be affected.
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The legal team also cited Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution and Sections 29(6), 33 and 88(3) of the Electoral Act in support of its position that questions concerning the disqualification of a candidate are ultimately matters for a court of competent jurisdiction rather than unilateral determination by INEC.
It added that there was currently no pending court action challenging Buba’s nomination on the basis of the issues addressed in the Supreme Court decision.
A Federal High Court in Bauchi had, on September 23, dismissed a separate suit challenging Buba’s PRP governorship candidacy. That case was instituted by Barrister Idris Gambo and concerned the PRP nomination process.
The legal team, however, said it was seeking a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment before making a more definitive assessment of its implications.
It cautioned lawyers, political actors and commentators against drawing categorical conclusions from reports of a judgment without first studying the full decision.
Publicly available reports confirm that the September 24 Supreme Court decision arose from a challenge by the Zenith Labour Party to provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing party membership registers and nomination procedures. The apex court overturned the July 16 decision of the Court of Appeal and restored the disputed statutory provisions.
The legal team stressed that obtaining the certified judgment was particularly important because the precise reasoning of the Supreme Court would determine how the ruling applies to different nomination disputes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
It therefore urged commentators to distinguish the facts of the INEC v. Zenith Labour Party case from the individual circumstances surrounding candidates before reaching conclusions about their eligibility.
The lawyers thanked supporters who had expressed concern over reports about Buba’s candidacy and reaffirmed their position that his nomination as the PRP governorship candidate remained intact.
Buba, who represents Bauchi South Senatorial District, had earlier said through his campaign that the Supreme Court decision would not derail his governorship bid, maintaining that he had complied with the relevant electoral requirements.
The legal team said it would continue to study the legal developments surrounding the Electoral Act and take any further steps considered necessary after obtaining and reviewing the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment.
