From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has thrown out the appeal filed by the governorship aspirant, Sani Sha’aban, against the victory of Senator Uba Sani at the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries election held in May.
Mr Sule Shuaibu who is the Counsel to APC confirmed the Abuja court’s verdict in favour of Senator Uba Sani, the governorship flagbearer of the party, by all three Justices of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday at Abuja.
Striking out the appeal, the Court held that the appeal having been argued on an incomplete record of appeal is incompetent.
Sha’aban had appealed against the judgement of the Federal High Court, Kaduna Division delivered on the 4th of November 2022 which earlier struck out the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Sha’aban appealed to the Court of Appeal.
Recalled that the Court of Appeal’s verdict on suit CA/k/262/2022 was based on the preliminary objection of the APC legal team, which argued that the Appeal is incompetent because of the failure of Hon Sha’aban to transmit the complete record of Appeal within 10 days after filing the appeal as provided by the law.
Meanwhile, Kaduna State All Progressives Congress(APC) Campaign Council has praised the decision of the Court of Appeal for striking out the suit of Alhaji Sani Mahmood Sha’aban.
A statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication, Malam Ibraheem Musa, described the judgement as a sound verdict which is grounded in law and fact, adding that it will deepen the electoral process.
‘’The APC family is genuinely happy with the Court of Appeal judgement and with this victory, the party is now more focused on the task of winning the 2023 elections at all levels,’’ he said.
‘’The verdict has indeed demonstrated that the judiciary is blind to sentiments and other extraneous considerations. Rather, it is guided by the constitution, electoral act and rules of the court,’’ the statement added.