The apex court in Nigeria, the Supreme Court, has affirmed the incumbent Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for Tobe North senatorial district in the February 25 National Assembly election.
The APC had gone to court to challenge the nomination of Bashir Machina as its candidate for Yobe North senatorial district.
The party had insisted that Lawan, Nigeria’s Senate President, was the authentic senatorial candidate for Yobe North for the forthcoming general election.
At the last hearing of the appeal, the APC counsel, Sepiribo Peters, argued that the primary election held on 28 May last year, which produced Machina was in breach of the Electoral Act 2022.
Peters contended that one Danjuma Manga, who conducted the said primary election was not nominated by the APC National Working Committee, NWC.
He informed the court that the APC cancelled the primary poll on account of the irregularities observed during the exercise.
He further argued that the other primary held on 9 June was conducted by the APC NWC, and produced Lawan as the party’s authentic candidate.
But, Machina’s lawyer, Sarafa Yusuf, prayed the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit on the ground that the Senate President did not challenge the suits at both the trial and lower courts.
He also pointed that Manga, who conducted the primary election where Machina emerged, was a member of the NWC-appointed committee to carryout the exercise.
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, but the President of the Court, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem-led the panel held that the appeal was an abuse of court process.
But, in a majority judgment delivered on Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against Machina’s candidature.
In the judgment, the apex court declared Lawan as the authentic candidate of the APC for Yobe North senatorial district.
