INEC Withdraws Two Certificates Of Return In Kaduna
BY AMOS TAUNA, KADUNA – The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), has withdrawn two Certificate Of Return earlier issued to Hon Haruna Aliyu, popularly known as Chakis and Hon Ibrahim Ismail respectively following orders of the courts.
Aliyu and Ismail are both members of the Kaduna House of Assembly representing Kaduna North II (Kawo) and Kaduna South II (Tudun Wada) constituency respectively since 2015 on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).
INEC, while upholding the court orders to withdraw the Certificate of Return of the duo and 23 others, said 20 of the 25 Certificates Of Return were withdrawn from APC members and given to other APC members; while two from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members were withdrawn and issued to other PDP members as well.
Aliyu and Ismail whose Certificate were withdrawn contested in the party primaries where Hon. Yusuf Salihu scored 104 votes and Hon. Nasiru Usman had 49 votes at the said elections held on October 7, 2018.
Meanwhile, APC had submitted the names of the winners of the primaries but later substituted with the names of Hon Aliyu and Hon Ismail illegally who had scored 24 and 35 votes respectively to INEC as the party’s candidates.
However, the development led to a legal fireworks to reclaim the stolen mandate at the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
In the judgement delivered on April 16, 2019 at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, the presiding Judge, Justice Z. B Abubakar said Hon Nasiru Usman having scored the highest number of votes cast at the party primaries conducted on the said date for elective position of members State House of Assembly representing Tudun Wada Constituency otherwise known as Kaduna South II, Kaduna State is the nominated candidate for the general elections.
Justice Abubakar stated that the purported substitution of the name of Hon. Yusuf Salihu for the Kaduna State House of Assembly election, Kaduna North II Constituency is in violation of the provision of section 33 of the Electoral Act. 2010 as amended.
Following the court orders, INEC obeyed the ruling and issued Certificate of Return to Hon. Yusuf Salihu and Hon. Nasiru Usman as the winners of the 2019 Kaduna State House of Assembly election.
