The Supreme Court of Nigeria has delivered its verdict on the controversial Senatorial race for Yobe North, affirming Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the authentic Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the forthcoming general election.
In the lead judgement, Justice Centus Nweze criticized the approach taken by Bashir Machina, the former Senatorial Candidate, in commencing the suit at the Federal High Court Damaturu division without oral evidence to prove allegations of fraud.
The majority decision of the apex Court also set aside the decision of the Appeal Court, Gombe Division, which had previously declared Machina the Senatorial Candidate for Yobe North.
However, a dissenting decision by Justices Emmanuel Agim and Adamu Jauro noted that Ahmad Lawan never participated in the APC primary held on 28 May and instead withdrew voluntarily to participate in the presidential primary held on 8 June 2022.
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The minority decision held that the conduct of another primary on June 9, 2022, which produced Lawan as the Senatorial Candidate, was in breach of Section 84 (5) of the Electoral Act, as the APC had not cancelled the previous primary held on 28 May before organizing another.
The APC had approached the Supreme Court, challenging the nomination of Bashir Machina as the party’s Senatorial Candidate for Yobe North.
The party had argued that Ahmad Lawan was the authentic Senatorial candidate for Yobe North for the forthcoming general election.
At the last hearing of the appeal, the counsel for the APC, Sepiribo Peters, argued that the primary election held on 28 May, which produced Machina, was in breach of the Electoral Act 2022 and was conducted by someone not nominated by the National Working Committee of the party.
Peters further argued that the other primary held on 9 June was conducted by the APC National Working Committee and produced Lawan as the party’s authentic candidate.
However, the lawyer for Machina, Sarafa Yusuf, prayed the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit, arguing that the Senate President did not challenge the suits at both the trial and lower courts and that the person who conducted the primary election that produced Machina was a member of the National Working Committee appointed Committee to carry out the exercise.
In the end, the Supreme Court’s verdict affirms Ahmad Lawan as the authentic Senatorial Candidate for Yobe North, settling the controversial race and clearing the path for the Senate President to represent the APC in the forthcoming general elections.
