The All Progressives Congress should not throw away a ticket that party structures in Gombe had already settled on Rt. Hon. Ali Isa JC, the Makama Cham and member for Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency.
The appeal should turn on delivery and electability, not on a late claim of popularity. Ali JC has represented Balanga/Billiri since he first entered the House in 2015, and constituents are eager for the return of Ali JC.
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He has been verifiable credited with scholarships for over 15,000 constituents, each said to receive a yearly stipend of ₦100,000 for five years; overseas training; food and non-food items for thousands; wrappers and clothing for women; laptops, ICT kits, sewing and grinding machines for youths; and help with federal jobs and security-service recruitment.
Because about 95 per cent of the constituency depends on farming, Hon.Ali JC has also supported the constituency with fertiliser, tools and food-production assistance, plus classroom blocks, teaching aids, hospital equipment, medical aid, and cash support for the sick and elderly.
He built a church in Tangji, Billiri, and a mosque for Muslim communities, and bought SUVs for all four eminent traditional rulers in the constituency.
He is a cross-party name whose standing comes from performance. That record is what the APC should not discard.
On 30 September 2026, the Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the 16 May 2026 primary that produced Ali JC, ordered a fresh primary within 30 days, and barred Ali JC from the rerun, holding that the name of Ali JC was not in the membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days earlier under Section 77 of the Electoral Act.
That judgement is a setback to a legitimately earned victory, and good he has taken the matter to a higher court.
Barring him, an incumbent already endorsed and issued a nomination form, hands the opposition a ready story: the ruling party sidelined the most visible name in Balanga/Billiri over a register-timing dispute.
The Court of Appeal should give the case of Rt. Hon. Ali JC full consideration — the register, the timing of entry into the APC, the primary the party conducted, and whether exclusion is the right remedy. Stakeholders should stay calm and weigh continuity against a dispute that is still before a higher court.
If that court settles the record and the APC holds to him, Balanga/Billiri can face the next election with a known, delivery-backed candidate rather than a needless rupture. That would serve the party, the constituents his massive supporters who are demanding that the ticket of Hon. Ali JC be decided by justice, not by default.
-Daily Buzzwire
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