By Deborah Onyofufeke
An Abuja Court of Appeal yesterday affirmed Bashir Machina as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Yobe North senatorial District.
The court upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu, Yobe State which held that the President of the senate 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 May 28.
Delivering judgement on the appeal filed by the President of the Senate, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, held that the primary election conducted by the party on 9th June 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, the primaries of 9th June were not monitored by the electoral commission.
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The APC made a case at the appellant court for itself and it preferred candidate Ahmed Lawan 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 appeal is unmeritorious as it fails in its entirety.
The appellant (APC) is to pay the sum of N1m to the 1st respondent (Bashir Sheriff) as a cost.
