The Supreme Court has affirmed Senate President Ahmed Lawan, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Yobe north.
In a majority judgment delivered on Monday, the apex court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against Bashir Machina’s candidature.
The lead majority judgment of three justices against two, set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal Abuja Division, which had on November 28, 2022, affirmed Bashir Sherrif Machina as the authentic APC senatorial candidate for Yobe North in the forthcoming general elections.
However, Justices Adamu Jauro and Emma Agim disagreed with the lead decision and consequently entered a dissent judgment, by dismissing the appeal of APC and affirming the concurrent findings of fact of the trial and appellate courts.
BRANDPOWER recalls that Justice Monica Dongban-Mensen, who presided over a 3-man panel of the appellate court, gave the affirmation in an appeal by the APC (appellant) challenging the decision of Justice Fadimatu Aminu of the Federal High Court Damaturu, which had on September 28, 2022, declared Bashir Sherriff Machina as winner of the primary election organised by the party on May 28, 2022.
However, having lost the APC presidential primary to Bola Tinubu, the party opted for Senate President Ahmed Lawan to replace Machina. But Machina insisted that he would not withdraw for the Senate President.
In the face of the controversy, the APC submitted the Senate President’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission as its senatorial candidate for Yobe North.
Not satisfied with the decision of his party, Machina headed to court to seek redress.
Specifically, Machina in his suit, asked the court to declare him as the validly elected senatorial candidate of the APC for Yobe North Senatorial District.
Justice Aminu had nullified the parallel primary election that produced Lawan on June 9, 2022, insisting that the National Working Committee of the APC conducted a valid primary election on May 28, which was won by Bashir Sheriff Machina.
Consequently, the trial judge ordered the APC to forward the name of Machina to INEC as the authentic winner of the primary election for Yobe North.
Channels reports that in the lead judgement of the Supreme Court , Justice Centus Nweze faulted the approach of Bashir Machina in commencing the suit at the Federal High Court Damaturu division by way of originating summons and without oral evidence to prove allegations of fraud.
In the majority decision, the apex Court also set aside the decision of the Appeal Court, Gombe Division, which affirmed the decision of the trial court that declared Machina the Senatorial Candidate for Yobe North.
But in a dissenting decision by Justices Emmanuel Agim and Adamu Jauro, the apex Court said Ahmad Lawan never participated in the APC primary held on 28 May, as he withdrew voluntarily to participate in the presidential primary held on the 8 June 2022.
The minority decision held that in the conduct of another primary on June 9, 2022 where Lawan emerged was in breach of Section 84 (5) of the Electoral Act as the APC never cancelled that held on 28 May before organizing another.
The APC had challenged the nomination of Bashir Machina as the party’s candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District.
The party insisted that Ahmad 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 counsel for the party, 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 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 process.
