Supreme Court Reserves Ruling On Zamfara APC’s Request

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved ruling in an application by the All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking a review of the judgment that disqualified the governorship and other candidates of the party in Zamfara State during the 2019 general elections.

A five-member panel of justices led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad announced that a new date would be communicated to the parties after listening to their arguments.

The ex-governor Abdulazeez Yari faction of the APC, through their counsel, Robert Clarke, SAN, brought the application seeking a review of the order of the apex court which voided all the votes polled by APC in the election over the conduct of primaries in Oct. 3, 2018.

Mike Ozekhome (SAN), counsel to Sen. Kabiru Marafa-led faction of the APC asked the court to dismiss the application with punitive costs.

He said the application constitutes a gross abuse of the Supreme Court processes.

“Morso, because of the most recent decisions of the court in the cases between Diri Douye and Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo of Bayelsa and that of Emeka Ihedioha versus Hope Uzodima of Imo, the court should not accede to their requests.

“They want the court to wake up a case that died 10 months ago which violates section 235 of the constitution of Nigeria,’’ Ozekhome said.

It will be recalled a Supreme Court judgment on May 24, 2019, upheld the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, which ruled that no valid primaries were conducted by the APC in Zamfara State.

A unanimous judgment by a five-member panel of the apex court ruled that APC had no valid candidate and therefore cannot be said to have emerged winner of the Zamfara State governorship election.