By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A Court of Appeal sitting in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on Thursday affirmed the election of Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani as the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, setting aside the judgement of a Federal High Court which nullified the governorship primary and declared that the APC has no candidate for the 2023 governorship election.
A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Malam Nuhu Ribadu, who contested but lost the ticket of the party, had filed a suit to seek nullification of the primary conducted on May 27.
He hinged his argument on alleged vote buying, over-voting and delegate inducement, asking the court to disqualify Binani and declare him the candidate of the APC in the state.
Ribadu also sought an order restraining the APC from submitting Binani’s name to INEC as the governorship candidate of APC on the grounds that she had emerged from an invalid and unlawful exercise.
Sen. Binani had in response to the nullification of her victory by the high Court approached the Court of Appeal.
In its judgement on Thursday, the Appellate Court presided over by Justice Tanko Yusuf Hassan ordered that Binani’s name be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately.
