The All Progressives Grand Alliance and four of its Imo State officials have asked the High Court in Owerri to restrain the state electoral commission from conducting the local government elections fixed for 26 September.
In Suit No. HOW/1380/2026, APGA, its state chairman Hon. John C. Iwuala, organising secretary Engr. Udensi Samuel Iheanyi, state secretary Pastor Alphonsus Eberendu and woman leader Hon. Mrs Nkasi Obi are seeking an interlocutory injunction against the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, its chairman and the Attorney-General of Imo State.
The motion, filed on 16 September, asks the court to stop the commission, its officers and agents from organising, conducting or giving effect to the polls pending the determination of the substantive case. The plaintiffs also want the defendants ordered to maintain the existing state of affairs until the suit is decided.
According to the supporting affidavit by Engr. Iheanyi, the commission issued a “360 Days Notice of Election” around 18 September 2025, published in the Whitepaper newspaper the following day. That notice, the affidavit states, did not specify the election date. A further notice or instrument issued around 11 September 2026 and published on 14 September fixed the poll for 26 September, roughly 15 days later.
The plaintiffs argue that the later instrument cannot cure what they call a fundamental defect in the original notice. They contend that the Electoral Act 2022 has been repealed by the Electoral Act 2026, which took effect on 18 February 2026, and that the process must now comply with the current law. They specifically cite Section 153 of the 2026 Act, which they say applies national statutory procedures to state local government elections and provides consequences for non-compliance.
Further complaints centre on the voters’ register. The affidavit states that the statutory 90-day period before the election ended around 28 June 2026 and that no satisfactory evidence has been provided that registration, updating and revision were completed within the required time.
The plaintiffs also rely on the Supreme Court’s decision of 28 February 2025 in All Progressives Congress v. Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, which treated certain statutory requirements as mandatory conditions rather than mere technicalities.
On 18 September, the plaintiffs’ solicitors, Fidelis Asika Ilobi & Co., wrote formally to the Imo Attorney-General. The letter confirmed that the originating summons and motion had been served on the defendants by 17 September and that the injunction application is fixed for hearing on 23 September, three days before the election. Citing the 1986 Supreme Court decision in Military Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu, the solicitors warned that parties with notice of pending injunctive proceedings act at their own risk if they proceed as if the case does not exist. They urged the Attorney-General to advise the government and the electoral commission to maintain the status quo pending the court’s decision.
No ruling has yet been delivered. The High Court has not granted, refused or issued any interim order on the application. The motion remains pending for hearing on Wednesday.
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