Supreme Court affirmed Ahmad Lawal as the authentic candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Yobe North Senatorial District on Monday.
In a majority judgement, Justice Centus Nweze held that the 1st respondent (Bashir Machina) who was an applicant at the trial court was wrong to have commenced his suit by way of originating summons.
In a majority judgment, the apex court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against Bashir Machina’s candidature.
The APC challenged the nomination of Machina as the party’s candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District.
The party 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, counsel for APC, Sepiribo Peters argued that the primary election held on 28 May 2022, 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 National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
He told the court 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 Lawan as the party’s authentic candidate.
However, 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 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.
