2027: I'm Not Affected By Supreme Court Judgement, Says PDP Candidate, Egbona
By Judex OKORO
Member representing Abi/Yakurr Federal constituency and People's Democratic Party (PDP) Reps candidate in 2027 general election, Dr Alex Egbona, has stated unequivocally that the Supreme Court judgement does not in any way affect his candidacy.
Alex, who spoke exclusively with THE BEAGLE NEWS in a telephone interview on Monday, said he fulfilled all INEC electoral guidelines before defecting to PDP, adding that before defections all available legal bottlenecks were considered in its merits and decision unanimously taken in the best interest of his constituents.
The federal lawmaker disclosed that he defected from APC to PDP APC on May 10, 2026 and was nominated by PDP for Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency for the House of Representatives election coming up on January 16, 2027.
He further disclosed that he didn't participate in the APC primaries and was was duly registered in PDP after meeting all the party's constitutional requirements before participating in the primary election, adding "I have been old in this business, so we examined all the pros and cons of Electoral Act with specific attention to guidelines for the conduct of party primaries.
" I think people should concentrate on campaigning for themselves and their party rather than dissipating energy on Supreme Court Judgement. My name is contained in the PDP register and was accordingly submitted to INEC before May 10, 2026 and I participated in the primaries"
The Supreme Court, in a judgement delivered on September 24, 2026 in a case between INEC v ZLP, restored 77(5)-(7) as constitutional qualification for participation in primaries.
In the judgment, The Supreme Court set aside the Court of Appeal decision of 16 July 2026 and restored Justice Mohammed Umar's judgment of 5 May 2026 in FHC/ABJ/509/2026. It held Sections 77(5),(6),(7) and 84(2) are not inconsistent with the Constitution.
According to 77(5), only persons on register submitted not later than 21 days before primary/congress/convention can participate while Section 77(6) states that no other register can be used.
Section 77(7) states that failure to submit means the party cannot field candidates while 84(2) states that nomination only by direct primaries or consensus.
Under 77(5) as now validated, eligibility for PDP primary depends on being on the register PDP submitted.
However, INEC, in one of its media briefings in Abuja, confirmed that all 22 registered political parties complied with their stipulated conditions within the extended timeframe ending May 10.
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