***Insists Lawan did not participate in election
Luck seems to be smiling on Bashir Sheriff Machina as the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday affirmed him as the authentic All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District.
The appellate court also upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in Damaturu, Yobe State which held that the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, is not the APC candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District in next year’s election into the National Assembly.
The court had submitted that Lawan did not participate in the legally recognised primary election of the APC to select its candidate in the election held on 28th May 2022.
Delivering judgment on the appeal filed by the Senate President, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justiice Monica Dongban-Mensem, held that the primary election conducted by the party on June 9 is invalid as it was in breach of the constitution.
The law is settled as to the involvement of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in party primaries, which is to monitor as the primaries of June 9 were not monitored by the electoral commission.
The APC made a case at the appellant court for itself and it preferred Ahmed Lawan as its candidate but failed to make him a co-appellant.
Lawan appeared in the case as the 2nd respondent indicating that he and the APC were working at cross purposes while trying to achieve a goal.
The appellate court further held that the appeal was unmeritorious and failed in its entirety.
The Court of Appeal also directed the appellant (APC) to pay N1 million to the 1st respondent (Bashir Sheriff) as cost.
