The Supreme Court is set to deliver its judgment in the dispute over the All Progressives Congress, senatorial ticket for Yobe North.
The APC is challenging the nomination of Bashir Machina as the party’s candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District.
The party is insisting that the president of the Senate Ahmad Lawan, was the authentic Senatorial candidate for Yobe North for the forthcoming general election.
At the last adjourned date Counsel for the APC Sepiribo Peters argued that the primary election held on 28th May 2022 which produced Mr Machina was in breach of the Electoral Act.
He 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.
The other primary election held on 9th June was conducted by the APC NWC and produced Mr Lawan as the party’s authentic Candidate.
Counsel to Mr Machina, Sarafa Yusuff 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 out that Mr Manga who conducted the primary election where Mr Machina emerged, was a member of the NWC-appointed Committee to carry out the exercise.
Yusuf claimed that Manga, who handled the primary election in which Machina was elected, was a member of the NWC-appointed Committee in charge of the process.
After hearing the lawyers’ arguments, the Apex Court’s five-member panel led by Justice Centus Nweze set February 6 for a decision.
The APC has petitioned the Court of Appeal in Abuja to overturn the lower court’s decision that proclaimed Machina the APC’s candidate for Yobe North.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, led by the legal’s president, Jusrice Monica Dongban-Mensem, ruled in the appeal that the appeal constituted an abuse of the court process.
The APC had approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking to nullify the judgment of the lower court that declared Mr Machina as APC’s candidate for Yobe North.
President of the Court of Appeal and Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem led the panel and held that the appeal was an abuse of the court process.
