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By Our Reporter

A bombshell court document obtained by this newspaper has laid bare the internal rot within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, revealing how the party allegedly fleeced a prominent aspirant of over One Million Naira, collecting payment for a chairmanship nomination form, only to turn around and refuse to hand over the document, effectively locking him out of the race.

The explosive originating summons, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, paints a damning picture of a party that is allegedly disregarding its own constitution and guidelines, treating long-standing members with what appears to be utter contempt.

The suit, filed by High Chief Gabriel Anyibuofu Ohai against the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeks the court’s interpretation of a brazen act of administrative sabotage.

According to the court documents, Chief Ohai fulfilled all conditions required by the APC to contest for the position of State Chairman. He expressed his interest, underwent due verification, and crucially, paid the prescribed fees, payments which were “duly received and acknowledged by the APC.”

However, despite taking his money, the party leadership allegedly refused to issue him the nomination form. The document further reveals that the APC went a step further, omitting Chief Ohai’s name from the list of aspirants for the Delta State Congress scheduled for March 3, 2026.

This action has prompted Chief Ohai to seek urgent legal redress, asking the court to determine:

· Whether, after payment and verification, he is not entitled to the nomination form.
· Whether the refusal to issue the form does not amount to a failure by the APC to follow its own Guidelines and Constitution.
· Whether the omission of his name does not amount to “unlawful exclusion.”

In his reliefs, the aspirant is not only demanding the form be issued but is also praying the court to “nullify or set aside any Congress organised or conducted by the Defendants for Delta State” for the chairmanship position and order a fresh congress where he is included.

Kangaroo Congress: A Pattern of Exclusion

This legal battle is the latest and most serious indictment of the APC’s congresses in Delta State, which aggrieved members have labeled a “kangaroo exercise.”

The allegations in the court filing align perfectly with a crescendo of protests from party stalwarts who claim that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and recently defected elements from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have hijacked the party machinery.

A coalition of party stakeholders, the Delta State APC Coalition for Equity, had earlier accused the governor’s camp of a plot to impose Chief Solomon Arenyeka, a former PDP Chairman, as the APC State Chairman.

In a statement over the weekend, the coalition alleged that “several aspirants from the old APC family in Delta State duly purchased and fully paid for the State Chairmanship Nomination Forms… Despite complete compliance with party guidelines, the nomination forms were not released to the aspirants.”

They described the action against Chief Ohai and others as “exclusion through administrative obstruction,” warning that the party is being turned into “a platform where outcomes are predetermined and aspirants screened out through technical maneuvers.”

‘Delta APC is Not an Annex of PDP’

The coalition, which includes Chief Alex Ikpeazu (also described as an excluded aspirant), Kenchad Rafua, and Ambassador Felix Datuowei, has raised the alarm that the refusal to release forms to old members is a deliberate ploy to hand over the party leadership to “sudden entrants.”

They have appealed directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, to investigate the “irregularities” and restore fairness.

As the March 2026 congress looms, the party’s publicity secretary, Valentine Onojeghuo, has dismissed claims of imposition, insisting the process is transparent. However, with a valid court summons challenging the very foundation of the exercise and demanding substantial damages for breach of contract, the APC in Delta State appears to be sitting on a political time bomb.

The question on the lips of many party faithful is simple: How can a party that claims to be a beacon of democracy take an aspirant’s money for a service and then refuse to render it? The Federal High Court in Abuja is now set to provide the answer.