Adamawa, Taraba APC: Bwacha, Binani’s  Governorship Candidacy Upheld  By Appeal Court

By Akinwale Kasali

The Governorship Candidacy of  Emmanuel Bwacha and Aishatu Ahmed popularly known as Aisha Binani of All Progressives Congress, APC, has been upheld by the Appeal Court In Yola, Adamawa State.

In upholding them as the duly elected Candidates, the Appeal Court set aside the ruling by a High Court nullifying their candidacy and ordered that their names be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the APC Governorship candidates for both states.

A Panel of three Justices which comprised  Justice T. Y Hassan (the presiding Judge) and Justices M. O. Bolaji and J. G. Abundaga  (JCA 1 and JCA 2) sat over the cases.

It would be recalled that the Federal High Court in Yola had on October 13, nullified the candidature of Binani as the governorship candidate of the APC in the State based on a suit FHC/YL/CS/12/2022 filed by another APC governorship aspirant in the State, Nuhu Ribadu.

The former Presidential Candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, had prayed that the Court declare Binani’s candidature invalid and unlawful and declare him the Party’s Governorship Candidate.

The Court refused to order a fresh APC Governorship Primary in Adamawa State, which didn’t augur well with the former anti graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Boss as he has lost the opportunity to re-contest.

Ribadu filed an appeal in suit NO.CA/YL/203/2022 between him and All Progressive Congress and two others.

Thursday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal dashed the hope of Ribadu as it dismissed his appeal  and allowed Binani’s appeal seeking to overturn the judgement given by the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Abdulaaziz Anka.

In a similar occurrence, it would be recalled that

on September 20, 2022 the Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, and presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, nullified the governorship primary election that produced Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the 2023 election.

In his ruling in the case filed by one of the Governorship aspirants, David Kente, the Judge directed INEC to conduct a fresh Governorship primary in the state within 14 days.

The Court also ordered Bwacha to stop parading himself as the governorship candidate of the APC, and ordered INEC to stop recognising Bwacha as a candidate.

But the ruling by the Appeal Court  has quashed the hope of David Kente as Bwacha is to be recognized as the APC Governorship Candidate in Taraba State.