Again, court nullifies Zamfara PDP guber primaries

The Federal High Court sitting in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, has nullified the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that produced Dauda Lawal-Dare as the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the state.

The presiding judge, Justice Aminu Bappa, on Tuesday, ruled that the PDP will have no candidate for the 2023 governorship election in the state.

This is the second time that the court will nullify the PDP governorship primaries in Zamfara State.

The same court had, on September 16, nullified the first gubernatorial primary election following alleged irregularities in the governorship primaries conducted on May 25.

Two governorship aspirants, Dr Ibrahim Shehu-Bakauye and Hafiz Muhammad, after the second exercise approached the court seeking nullification of the second primaries conducted on September 23.

The aspirants had prayed the court to declare the exercise as null and void and to no effect for failing to meet the conditions as stipulated in Section 82 (1 and 5) of the Electoral Act 2022 as amended.

The plaintiffs in their suit included the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the chairman of the governorship primary election committee, Felix Hyat, Zamfara State PDP Chairman, Ahmed Sani (Now Late), state PDP governorship candidate, Dr Dauda Lawal, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.

However, Justice Bappa-Aliyu, on Tuesday, held that the primaries conducted by the PDP was unlawful, saying the exercise did not follow guidelines of the 2022 Electoral Act.

The judge said the PDP and other defendants having failed to comply with Section 82 Sub section 1 and 5 of the Electoral Act 2022 as amended, was no longer qualified to field a governorship candidate in the 2023 general election in the state.

The Star