Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Sokoto on Thursday reaffirmed that Isa Sadiq Achida remained the authentic chairman of Sokoto State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Omotosho, who is the presiding judge in the suit filed by the Mainasara-led faction of the APC, which is also claiming to be the state chairman of the party, dismissed the case on the grounds of filing out of time.
Explaining that the case should have been filed withing 14 days after the appellant court judgement that set aside the Abuja High Court judgement on the matter, Omotosho insisted that political parties must have acceptable guidelines.
Some of these guidelines, according to Justice Omotosho, include conducting party congresses at the party secretariat which was not so in the case that produced the Mainasara-led executive committee.
The development therefore negates the guidelines set up by APC for the conduct of states’ congresses.
Justice Omotosho further held that the report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), therefore stands, hence reaffirming the Isa Sadiq Achida- led executives as the duly recognised leadership of the party.
But the judge dismissed the preliminary objection by the lawyer to Achida that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter since it was an internal affairs of the political party.
Theideal recalls that the APC in Sokoto has been engulfed in leadership crisis after its State Congress of last year, following emergence of leadership from three factions in the same party.
The Hon Salame-led faction produced Surajo Abubakar Dogon Daji as it’s chairman, the Senator Wamakko-led faction produced Isa Sadiq Achida and that of Senator Gada-led faction produced Mainasara Abubakar Sani.
As the tussle for the party leadership rages on, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), while in Sokoto, insisted that the Mainasara-led state executive was the duly recognized one, a position which was affirmed by an Abuja High Court.
Dissastified with the Abuja High Court decision, one of the factions approached the Appeal Court in Abuja Abuja which set aside the judgement of the lower court on grounds that the lower court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter that occured in Sokoto State.
Following that legal trend, the Mainasara led executive filled a case in the Federal High Court in Sokoto which delivered its judgment in favour of Achida-led faction of the APC.
