Taraba LG Polls: TSIEC Reacts To APC’s Threat Of Court Action Over Candidates List
By Lynn Adda
The Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission, TSIEC has reacted to the media reports that the All Progressive Congress, APC is threatening Court action over alleged rejection of its Candidates List for the November Local Government Elections by the Commission.
Dr Phillip Duwe, Chairman, Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission
This is contained in a Press Release issued this Sunday by the Secretary of the Electoral Body, Barr Eyamu Yaro on behalf of the Chairman.
“The attention of the Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission, (TSIEC), has been drawn to a news report titled “APC Vows Action As SIEC Rejects Candidates List” being circulated in both conventional and online media.
“According to the report, the APC alleged that the commission rejected the list of its candidates for the scheduled November 8th, 2025 local government chairmanship and councillorship elections.
“Secondly, the party insinuated that by that rejection, the commission deliberately planned to edge it out from participating in the elections.
“Thirdly, the APC state chairman, Barr Ibrahim El-Sudi was quoted as saying the commission’s refusal to collect the list amounted to “bias and collusion with the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), and “was a calculated attempt to weaken opposition voices and pave the way for a one-sided contest in favour of the PDP.”
“He therefore threatened legal action if the commission failed to rescind its decision not to allow the party’s candidates participate in the upcoming elections. Not even when the deadline for purchase and submission of forms had expired”.
Reacting to the development, Barr Eyamu Yaro stressed that right from the time of release of guidelines for the particular election, the commission has been having robust engagements with all registered political parties in the state, including the APC on all of its activities in this regard.
“2. In the amended Local Government Council Election Timetable, the commission had a meeting with all political parties, where the Notice of Election was unveiled at the conference hall of NUT state secretariat, Jalingo, on the 11th June, 2025 in an open gathering that included members of the press and civil society organisations. The APC was ably represented by Barr El-Sudi in person and also contributed in the discussions that took place.
“3. Party primaries were scheduled for between 29th July-30th August, 2025; sales of forms commenced 1st-5th September 2025, while submission of forms opened on the 8th-17th September 2025 and 23th-30th September, 2025 was set aside for screening of candidates.
“However, it may interest the public to note that the APC, after disagreeing with the commission over the sales of forms, insisting that it should be given out for free and even threatened court action, deliberately stayed away from the rest of activities as contained in the amended timetable.
“To the greatest surprise of the commission, on Friday the 26th of September, 2025 at about 2pm, the state Secretary of the party, Mr Fidelis
barged into our office, while the screening of candidates was ongoing. He came with files said to contain the list of his party’s candidates in the election.
“It was perplexing for all the members of the screening committee, because it is on record that neither the party nor any of its candidates did purchase any form as required by the Taraba State Appropriation Law 2025, which mandated the commission to raise a minimum of N50 million from sales of forms for the election and remit same into government coffers.
“The commission, hereby note that the APC is only out to cause some form of mischief, because it had since planned not to participate in the election, by deliberately choosing not to buy the forms or allowing its members who wanted to contest do so.
“Having waited until the expiration of date for sales of forms, the APC’s claim that it is being edged out of the contest was not only false and laughable, but seemingly mischievous”.
