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CPC guber tickets :Abacha, Lado
out
; Masari,Jaafaru Isa in
Newsdiaryonline Wed April 20,2011
With just a few days to the gubernatorial elections,the court of
Appeal has dashed the hopes of Mohammed Abacha(CPC Kano) and
Senator Garba Yakubu Lado (CPC Katsina).The Court of Appeal
today declared the former Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Amimu Bello Masari and Brig-Gen Lawal Jafaru
Isa are the candidates
of of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) respectively for
the forthcoming gubernatorial polls.
The verdict came in the
separate appeals filed by Masari and Isa against the decisions
of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, that earlier
voided their nominations
for the gubernatorial race
While delivering the court's judgment, Justice Olujimi Bada
upheld Masari’s appeal against the decision of the Federal High
Court of February 25, 2011, which earlier declared
Senator Yakubu Garba
Lado as the CPC governorship candidate for Katsina State.
The three-man panel comprising Justices Muhammed Garba Lawal,
Jimi Bada and Regina Obiageli ruled that
the lower Court "erred
in law when it failed to consider the affidavit and documentary
evidence of the CPC and the fact that the Board of Trustees (BoT)
of the party has the final say as to who the candidate of the
party in any election is."
The Appeal Court
justices averred that, “the party’s constitution and guidelines
bind on the 1st to 43rd Respondents and the Party’s primary
election held on January 15, 2011 never had the sanction of the
CPC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) or the Board of
Trustees”.
Justice Bada equally ruled that the Katsina State chairman of
the party who forwarded the name of Lado and 46 other candidates
of the party to the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) lacked such powers and has usurped the functions of the
Board of Trustees.He also added adding that the primaries held
on January 13, 2011, won by Masari , sanctioned by the party was
the recognised party primary.
In its ruling on the Isa
appeal, the court held the view that the counter affidavit filed
by him against the candidacy of Mohammed Abacha was not
controverted and therefore the court has no reason whatsoever
not to believe that the primary was inconclusive and that Abacha
was jailed abroad for money laundering.
The court also took cognizance of the evidence of alleged
bribery by Abacha.In the course of its proceedings,the court
examined and reviewed the counter affidavit that Professor
N.U.Suleiman, chairman of the Electoral Committee, whereof he
averred that Abacha sent one Sani Usman with N1million to him as
bribe and a promise to send him more money when he
announces his name.Suleiman had also averred that there was
violence, which stalled electoral officers from reaching nine
local government areas of the state and that the results of 14
local government areas were forged.
“With the above scenario, can one say that the election on
January 12, 2011 was conclusive? Therefore, the trial Judge was
wrong by holding that the 1st Respondent (Abacha) won the
primary election. The judgement given by the lower court is
hereby set aside and the appeal success. ”.
Much earlier,the Federal
High Court, Mr. Judge Abdul Kafarati had on February 25, 2011
declared Senator Lado as the authentic CPC governorship
candidate in Katsina State for the. governorship elections,
saying that Masari was unable to show that he was validly
elected in the separate primary election in which he was said to
have emerged a winner.
In the same vein,Justice Gabriel Kolawole of
Federal High Court in
Abuja had restrained Brigadier-General
Jafaru Isa from
parading himself as the
CPC governorship candidate in Kano State and held that Muhammed
Abacha, the son of the former military Head of State, General
Sani Abacha was the Kano
State CPC governorship candidate.
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