The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Bashir Sheriff Machina as the party’s authentic candidate for the Yobe North Senatorial District in the 2023 general elections.
APC in a letter dated October 12, 2022 and signed by its National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and the Secretary, Sen. Iyiola Omisore directed INEC to also publish the name of Machina in its portal in line with the court order.
The letter titled ‘Notification of Court Judgment In Favour of Bashir Sheriff’, reads, “We write to notify the Commission of the attached judgement dated 28th September, 2022 and Order dated 5th October, 2022 from the Federal High Court, Damaturu Judicial Division directing the Commission to accept and recognize Bashir Sheriff as the Party’s candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District, Yobe State and to publish same accordingly.
“Above is for your information and necessary action, please.”
A Federal High Court in Damaturu, Yobe State had recently ruled that Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, is not the candidate of the ruling party for the senatorial district in next year’s election into the National Assembly.
The court ruled that Machina is the authentic candidate of the party having won the legally recognised primary supervised by INEC officials.
There has been controversy over the APC Yobe North Senatorial ticket.
Machina, at a primary election organised by the party in May, had won unopposed.
But Lawan was said to have participated in another primary election organised by the APC, after he contested the party’s presidential ticket and lost in June.
Machina was reportedly asked to step down for Lawan but, he insisted that he would not withdraw for the senate president.
Amid the controversy, the APC submitted the Senate President’s name to INEC as its senatorial candidate for Yobe North.
Aggrieved, Machina instituted a suit asking the court to declare him as the authentic senatorial candidate of the APC for the 2023 election.
In her judgment, Justice Fadimatu Aminu, nullified the parallel primary election that produced Lawan on June 9, 2022.
The judge also ordered the APC to forward the name of Machina to INEC as the authentic winner of the primary held in May.
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