The Supreme Court on Monday declared the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, as the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Yobe North.
APC had filed a suit against the candidature of Bashir Machina before the apex court. The party claimed that Lawan was the authentic senatorial candidate for Yobe North in the 2023 election.
The counsel for the party, Sepiribo Peters at the last hearing argued that the primary election held on 28 May last 2022, which produced Machina was in breach of the Electoral Act 2022. He contended that one Danjuma Manga who conducted the primary election which produced Machina was not nominated by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
He told the court that the APC cancelled the exercise on account of the irregularities observed when it was being conducted.
Peters argued that the other primary election held on 9 June was conducted by the APC NWC, and produced Lawan as the party’s validly nominated 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 out that Manga who conducted the primary election where Machina emerged, was a member of the NWC-appointed committee to carry out the exercise.
In the majority ruling of the court on Monday, Justice Centus Nweze faulted the approach of Machina in commencing the suit at the Federal High Court in Damaturu division by way of originating summons and without oral evidence to prove his allegations of fraud.
