Just in : S’Court affirms Lawan as Yobe North APC senatorial candidate

The Supreme Court has declared the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Yobe North Senatorial District.

The judgment of the apex court was delivered in the early hours of Monday in favour of the President of the Senate.

In the majority judgment, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against the initial candidate of the party for Yobe North Senatorial District, Bashir Machina.

Lawan came into the race for the senatorial ticket after he lost the presidential primaries of the APC to the eventual winner and candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Machina, who had earlier won the senatorial primaries, was expected to withdraw for Lawan, but he refused, vowing to fight it all the way.

Delivering the judgment on Monday, three out of a five-member panel agreed with the position of the APC that the suit at the trial court ought not to have commenced via an originating summons since it contained allegations of fraud.

The judge said, “The bedrock of the suit shows that there were allegations of fraudulent practices against the appellants.

“That the 1st respondent accused the APC of fraudulently substituting his name with that of Lawan.

“There was a need to call witnesses to prove allegations of fraud.”

The APC submitted the senate president’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the candidate for Yobe north.

The electoral commission subsequently refused to list any candidate for the district.

Aggrieved, Machina instituted a suit asking the court to declare him as the authentic senatorial candidate.

In September 2022, a federal high court in Damaturu, the Yobe capital, ordered the APC and INEC to recognise Machina as the candidate.

A month later, an Abuja court of appeal affirmed Machina’s election as the candidate of the APC for the Yobe north senatorial district.

Still not satisfied, the APC appealed the appellate court’s judgment.