A’Court okays Lawal-Dare as Zamfara PDP gov candidate

The Court of Appeal in Sokoto on Friday upheld the primary election which produced Dr Dauda Lawal-Dare as the candidate of the People Democratic Party for the March 11 governorship election in Zamfara State.

The PDP held its first governorship primary on May 25, 2022, but the exercise was challenged at Federal High Court in Gusau.

The court ordered a fresh primary election which was conducted on September 23, 2022, and also quashed by the same court for irregularities.

Not satisfied, the appellants, Lawal-Dare, Adamu and two others approached the Appeal Court for redress.

The respondents in the suit were Dr Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau, Alhaji Wadatau Madawaki, Hafiz Nahuche and the Independent National Electoral Commission.

In a unanimous judgement read by Justice Abubakar Talba on behalf of others, the court said the appellants succeeded in proving all the seven grounds of appeals canvassed by their counsel and resolved all in favour of the appellants, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Friday.

Justice Talba dismissed all the preliminary objections on the competency of the appeal suit on the bases of judicial provisions and the interest of a fair hearing, arguing that technical defaults could not supersede judicial provisions.

He held that the lower court judge was wrong to discountenance documents from INEC.

He added that they perused all the arguments presented by different counsel, citations of court judgements and other judicial considerations and arrived at the decision, and thereby set aside the lower court’s judgement and answered the prayer sought in the affirmative.

He further noted that the trial judge, Justice Aminu Bappah-Aliyu of Federal High Court Gusau, failed in his legal responsibilities in some judicial considerations, giving parties a fair hearing.

Justice Talba awarded N200,000 as cost to the appellants against the respondents.

Meanwhile, in another judgment in a separate suit he delivered, he upheld the prayers of Lawal-Dare, and two others against the same respondents.

He agreed that the respondents did not prove that the PDP primary election appeal panel went into hiding as pieces of evidence were not adduced.

-punch news