On Wednesday, the Supreme Court scheduled February 6 for a judgment in the ongoing legal dispute between the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, and Bashir Machina. The case revolves around who is the authentic candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the Yobe North Senatorial District. The apex court set this date to assess the merits of an appeal filed by the APC, which challenges a previous judgment that disqualified Lawan from contesting the upcoming election as its candidate.
A five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Chima Nweze, adjourned the appeal for judgment after hearing arguments from both parties. On November 28, 2022, Lawan’s bid for re-election was thwarted by a Court of Appeal ruling in Abuja, which affirmed Machina as the legitimate APC candidate for the senatorial election. In a unanimous decision, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensen of the appellate court dismissed the APC’s appeal in favor of Lawan, deeming it lacking in merit.
Prior to this, the APC had contested a Federal High Court ruling in Damaturu that recognized Machina as its candidate for the senatorial district. The high court had invalidated a parallel primary election conducted by the APC to select Lawan, ordering the party to promptly submit Machina’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate. The appellate court upheld the high court’s ruling, noting that the APC failed to include Lawan as a co-appellant in its appeal and instead listed him as the second respondent. This action indicated that the party, in its efforts to achieve its aims, acted against Lawan’s interests, leading to the dismissal of the appeal and the awarding of N1 million in costs to Machina.
Following Lawan’s loss in the primary election that resulted in Asiwaju Bola Tinubu being named the APC presidential candidate, he requested that Machina, who had won the senatorial seat, relinquish the ticket to him. Machina, however, rejected this request. In a surprising turn of events, the APC submitted Lawan’s name to the INEC as its candidate, prompting an aggrieved Machina to seek legal recourse.
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