2023: Court nullifies Kaduna PDP senatorial primary election, orders fresh poll within 2-weeks
By Austine Emmanuel, Kaduna
The Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, has nullified the primary election conducted by the opposition People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) for Kaduna Central senatorial district due to irregularities.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal high court, Kaduna delivered the judgement on Wednesday, ordered PDP to conduct fresh primary within 14-days.
It could be recalled that one of the aspirants for the senatorial position, Hon. Usman Ibrahim, stormed the court through his Counsel, Samuel Atung, (SAN) challenging the emergence of Mr. Lawal Adamu on the ground of over voting and also prayed the court, to nullify the exercise and give every aspirant equal opportunity to test their popularity.
Atung argued that his client had in his possession video and graphic evidence of over-voting by delegates whose legal consequences he noted were voiding and nullification of result of the primary election, adding that the PDP National Executive Council had asked the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to conduct fresh primary only for the client to mobilized his followers to the venue of the said election in furtility.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, in his ruling, said all the complaint made by the plantiff are substantial, likewise the decision made by the National working committee, (NWC) of PDP to conduct fresh primary that did not later hold, as a result, claims by the defendant are null and void.
The counsel to Hon. Usman Ibrahim, Samuel Atung, (SAN) during an interaction with newsmen, shortly after the ruling, said the court remains the last hope of the common man.
Atung said, after the Kaduna Central PDP Primary to select its candidate for the 2023 general election, our client wrote a petition to the party’s Appeal Panel challenging the outcome of the exercise as a result of over voting.
“We have a video evidence to that effect and the committee considered our appeal and forwarded its recommendation to the Central Working Committee (CWC) which in its wisdom called for a repeat of the primary election.
“The PDP wrote INEC, intimated the Nigeria Police, Civil Defence and other relevant stakeholders of its decision to hold a repeat primary for Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone, which was a welcome development.
“Unfortunately on the appointed date, our client, after mobilizing his supporters to the venue of the repeat primary, only to be told that the exercise would no longer hold due to the direction of the Power that be.
“We came to court seeking for justice in that line and the judge has ruled that the party should follow the decision of the national working committee and conduct fresh primary in two weeks.”
