The Supreme Court has slated February 6 for judgement in the legal dispute over the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket for Yobe North.
The APC is challenging the nomination of Bashir Machina as the party’s candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District, insisting that Ahmad Lawan, Nigeria’s Senate President, is the authentic Senatorial candidate for Yobe North for the forthcoming general election.
When the hearing of the appeal kicked off on Wednesday, the APC’s lawyer, Sepiribo Peters, argued that the primary election of the APC held on 28 May, 2022, which produced Machina was in breach of the Electoral Act.
Peters contended that Danjuma Manga who conducted the said primary election was not nominated by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party and that the APC cancelled the primary poll on account of the irregularities observed during the exercise.
He argued that the other primary held on 9 June was conducted by the APC NWC, and produced Ahmed Lawan as the party’s authentic flagbearer for the February 25 poll.
Machina’s lawyer, Sarafa Yusuff, prayed the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit., and that the APC did not challenge Machina’s suits at both the trial and lower courts.
Also Read:Yobe North Ticket: Again INEC denies Lawan, says no candidate for APC
Yusuf held that Manga who conducted the primary election where Machina emerged was a member of the NWC-appointed Committee to carryout the exercise.
After listening to the submissions of the lawyers, the five-man panel of the Apex Court led by Justice Centus Nweze fixed February 6 for judgement.
The APC had approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking to nullify the judgment of the lower court that declared Machina as APC’s candidate for Yobe North.
Delivering judgement in the appeal, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja led by the court of appeal president, Jusrice Monica Dongban-Mensem, held that the appeal was an abuse of the court process.
(Editor : Ena Agbanoma)
