By Folayimika Akanbi
A former Commissioner for Works in Kwara State, Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu, has dragged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before the Federal High Court in Ilorin for allegedly substituting his name as Senatorial Candidate of the party for Kwara North with another person.
Iliasu is contesting the substitution of his name with Baba Kolo Jiyah after he had emerged as the flag-bearer of the party for the 2027 general election without his consent.
In his originating summons filed through a counsel from Alajo & Associates, Ilorin, the former commissioner also sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Jiyah in the case he instituted.
The suit, marked FHC/IL/CS/136/2026 as contained in the originating summons, has INEC, the PDP and Baba Kolo Jiyah as respondents.
Wind Gate News reports that INEC, on Saturday, published the names of senatorial candidates of political parties in the forthcoming general election with Jiyah’s name featuring prominently as the Kwara North Senatorial Candidate of the PDP.
However, in his before the Federal High Court, Ilorin Judicial Division, Iliasu is asking the court to determine whether the substitution and the decision of the INEC to publish Jiyah’s name complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Iliasu, in the originating summons, contended that he emerged as the winner of the PDP’s primary election for the Kwara North Senatorial District conducted on May 20, 2026.
He further claimed that INEC subsequently published his name on August 1, 2026, as the PDP’s candidate for the senatorial district in the 2027 general election.
Iliasu is challenging the decision of INEC to publish the name of Jiyah on September 12, 2026, as a replacement for his name.
He is asking the court to determine whether, having been nominated and published as the party’s candidate, his name could lawfully be substituted without his withdrawal of candidature as contemplated under Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Among the questions submitted for determination is whether the alleged decision of the PDP to substitute his name and the INEC’s subsequent action are lawful, having regard to Sections 29, 31, 32 and 33 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Iliasu is also asking the court to determine whether INEC’s publication of Jiyah’s name on September 12, 2026, in replacement of his previously published name, is valid when, according to him, he had not withdrawn his candidature.
In the originating summons, he is seeking a declaration that the substitution of Jiyah’s name for his is unlawful, illegal, null and void.
He is also asking the court to declare him the rightful and validly nominated PDP candidate for the Kwara North Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.
Furthermore, he is seeking an order directing INEC to continue recognising him as the PDP candidate for the senatorial district.
The applicant is also asking the court to restrain INEC, its officials, agents and representatives from recognising Jiyah as the PDP candidate for the election, pending the determination of the issues raised in the suit.
He is equally seeking any further orders the court may deem appropriate in the circumstances.
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