Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin-Kebbi
Federal High Court sitting in Birnin-Kebbi on Wednesday has ordered that Hon. Husseini Suleiman Kangiwa stop parading himself as APC House of Representative candidate of the 2019 National Assembly election of Dandi/Arewa federal constituency.
The plaintiff, Hon. Umar Abdullahi Kamba, had challenged the substitution of his name by the APC, National headquarters Abuja with Hon. Kangiwa, who is the second defendants in the matter in a primary election he won and supervised by the APC National Assembly elections supervising committee.
Justice Sunday Onu Bassey, while delivering the judgment, noted that Kangiwa did not appeared before the court to give his testimony or call any witness.
The Presiding Judge also noted that it was not lawful for the first defendant to change the plaintiff’s name, who participated in the said primary election, as all the witnesses invited in the case confirmed that plaintiff got the highest number of votes and was declared winner.
The court observed that it was the APC national assembly election supervising committee that appointed members of the Kebbi APC state executive to assist them in the conducting of the primary election, since they could not trace the place and venue of the election, thereby affirming the argument that the subcommittee supervised the election.
Citing section 87 (4c) of Electoral Act 2010, as amended, Justice Bassey noted that it was wrong for first defendant to have substituted an aspirant with the highest number of votes with another name.
He noted that all the evidence before the court showed that the plaintiff paid the sum of N350,000 into the UBA account of the first defendant (APC Abuja), submitted the nomination/expression of interest form duly signed and submitted to the first defendant’s secretariat.
Justice Bassey, said “based on the evidence before this honourable court, the court orders that it is not lawful for the first defendant to change the plaintiff’s name with the second defendant’s; and orders that the third defendants (INEC) should recognize the plaintiff as the APC candidate of the Dandi/Arewa Federal constituency of the 2019 national assembly election.
“That the second defendant is restricted from parading himself as the candidate of the Dandi/Arewa Federal constituency of the 2019 National Assembly election,” he concluded.
While reacting to the judgment, counsel to the second defendant, Barrister Husseini Zakariya, said that although he accepted the judgment in good faith, they would appeal the judgment before Monday.