A High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has stopped the national election of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) scheduled for March 7, 2026, following a legal challenge by a presidential aspirant who alleged that he was being unfairly excluded from the race.
H. Aprioku, the justice in the case, granted an interim order of injunction restraining the INC and members of its electoral committee from conducting the election pending the resolution of a dispute over the screening of candidates. The order was issued in suit number PHC/719/CS/2026 filed by Macdonald Igbadiwei, High Chief, a lawyer and member of the organisation.
The court directed that the defendants, their agents, servants, privies, or anyone acting on their behalf must not proceed with the election slated for March 7 or any other date until the dispute is resolved. Justice Aprioku also ordered the parties to first attempt to settle the matter through the organisation’s Internal Dispute Resolution Committee within seven days.
According to the judge, if the parties successfully resolve the dispute internally, the court will abridge the time for hearing the case. However, if the internal mechanism fails to produce a resolution within the stipulated period, the court will proceed with the case and determine all pending applications on March 18, 2026.
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Igbadiwei had approached the court alleging that the INC Electoral Committee planned to screen him out of the race for National President despite his claim that he met all the constitutional requirements to contest. In the suit, he named the chairman and members of the electoral committee as defendants, including retired Supreme Court Justice Francis Fedode Tabai, who chairs the committee.
Other defendants listed in the case include Seiyefa Koroye, Olobo Choice Jamaica, Iyoropatei Victoria Odogbo, Joel Wodubamo Aigbekumo, Immaculata Love Amaseimogha, Ebizimoh Okolo, Major Iteimowei, Eniatorudabo A. Harrison, Godwin Efang and Amaopuseniibo Shedrack Fubara.
In an affidavit supporting his application, Igbadiwei stated that he has been an active member of the INC since 2004 through the Gbaran Clan in the Central Zone of Bayelsa State. He said he previously served as Chairman of the Apoi Clan between 2004 and 2007 before becoming caretaker chairman and later the substantive chairman of the Gbaran Clan when it was created.
He also told the court that he currently serves as the elected Legal Adviser of the Gbaran Clan, a position he has held since 2021. According to him, after years of service within the organisation, he decided to contest for the office of National President in the 2026 election.
The claimant stated that he purchased the INC nomination form for the position for N1 million and completed it alongside all required documentation. He said the documents included nomination and endorsement forms signed by at least 30 members of the Central and Western zonal tiers of the organisation in Bayelsa State.
Igbadiwei further told the court that the electoral committee received his completed nomination form and supporting documents without raising any objection or query. However, he later received reports that the committee had screened him out and intended to proceed with the election without including his name among the candidates.
He alleged that the committee planned to formally notify him of his disqualification only a day before the election or on the day of the poll, thereby preventing him from seeking legal redress.
The claimant said he subsequently wrote a petition dated March 1, 2026, to the chairman of the electoral committee requesting clarification of his status as a candidate. According to him, the committee failed to respond to the petition, effectively denying him the opportunity to pursue internal dispute resolution within the organisation.
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Igbadiwei maintained that he meets all the constitutional requirements to contest for the position, including being an indigene of an Ijaw community, meeting the minimum age requirement and being a financial member of the organisation. He also stated that he has never been declared bankrupt, convicted of any offence involving dishonesty or removed from office by the INC National Convention.
The claimant added that he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2003 and that his academic qualifications exceed the minimum requirements stipulated by the organisation’s constitution.
He warned that unless the court intervenes, the defendants would proceed with their alleged plan to exclude him from the election, an action he said would cause him irreparable harm that cannot be adequately compensated by damages.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter to March 18, 2026, for further proceedings if the dispute is not resolved through the organisation’s internal mechanism.
