The court of appeal in Sokoto has affirmed Dauda Lawal as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Zamfara state.
A high court sitting in Gusau, Zamfara State, had earlier nullified the primaries that produced Lawal.
It was reported Lawal was elected on May 26 with 431 votes, defeating Ibrahim Shehu, who came in second with five votes, and Wadatau Madawaki, who came in third with three votes.
In June, Madawaki, Shehu, and another candidate, Aliyu Muhammad, filed a lawsuit challenging the primary’s legality.
They asked for the election to be cancelled because of alleged irregularities, contradictions, fraud, and violations of the electoral act and the party’s constitution, among other things.
The election was declared null and void by a federal high court in Gusau on September 16, and a rerun was ordered.
Lawal won the rerun with 422 votes, defeating his two opponents, Ibrahim Shehu and Hafiz Nahuche, who each received one vote.
Dissatisfied, Shehu and other aspirants went back to court, claiming that the PDP had broken electoral rules.
On November 8, the court ruled that the rerun was invalid and barred the party from fielding a candidate for governor in 2023.
As a result, the PDP filed an appeal with the court of appeals to seek redress.
In a court judgment issued on November 23, the court of appeals ruled that the PDP’s appeal was academic because it had already complied with the high court’s ruling ordering a new primary election.
However, in a recent appeal, a three-man appeal court panel ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept Lawal-Dare as the PDP’s elected governorship candidate in Zamfara.
The panel stated that it was implausible for the federal high court judge to refuse to accept the INEC report on the primaries, despite the fact that it was a public document and was available on the commission’s website.
The panel also stated that the plaintiffs did not properly join the appellant.
Furthermore, the panel held that the federal high court was wrong to have granted a relief not sought by the plaintiff, adding that “the court is not Father Christmas”.
Reacting to the judgement, Lawal, in a statement by his media office, described the Appeal Court’s ruling in Sokoto “as a victory for democracy, to the good people of Zamfara State.
“The Appeal Court judgment was a victory not only to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) but to the entire people of Zamfara yearning for good governance.
“The people are celebrating my appeal court judgement because of their conviction that under my leadership, Zamfara State will be a reference point for new ideas, determination, dynamism, and endless possibilities,” the statement added.
Comments are closed.