2023: A’Court upholds APC’s Adamawa, Taraba guber primaries

The Court of Appeal sitting in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, has set aside the High Court ruling nullifying the primaries that produced Aishatu Binani as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The Court of Appeal also upheld the governorship primary election that produced Emmanuel Bwacha as the APC gubernatorial flag-bearer in Taraba State ahead of 2023 general election.

The court on Thursday ordered that their names should be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as APC governorship candidates for Adamawa and Taraba states.

It would be recalled that a Federal High court sitting in Yola, on October 14, nullified the governorship primaries that produced Binani, declaring that the APC had no candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in Adamawa State.

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The case was filed by a former Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, challenging the APC governorship primary election over alleged irregularities, and demanding for fresh primaries.

Binani had scored 430 votes to defeat her closest opponent, Ribadu, who polled 288 votes in the election.

The Federal High Court judge, in a ruling by Justice Abdulaaziz Anka, held that the APC had no candidate for the 2023 governorship election in the state.

Justice Anka also ordered Binani, who was earlier declared winner of the election to stop parading herself as the party’s candidate for the 2023 governorship election.

The judge held that the APC governorship primary election held on May 26 was marred with irregularities such as over-voting, and non compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.

The Star