Abuja – The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan against the emergence of Bashir Machina as the Yobe North senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
Ruling on the appeal on Monday, the Appeal Court upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in Damaturu which held that President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, cannot claim to be the candidate of APC for Yobe North since he did not participate in the primary election held on May 28.
The court submitted that Lawan refusal to participate in the legally recognised primary election of the APC to select its candidate clearly put him out of the contest.
In its judgment , 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 and which threw up Lawan as winner was invalid as it was carried out in breach of the constitution.
“The law is settled as to INEC’s involvement in party primaries, which is to monitor, the primaries of 9th June were not monitored by the electoral commission.
“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.
Mr 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 an N1 million to the Ist respondent ( Bashir Sheriff) as cost,” the court ruled.
