Appeal Court Restores Wali, Sacks Abacha As Kano PDP Guber Candidate
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The last may not have been heard of the crisis rocking the Kano State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Court of Appeal sitting in Kano on Friday restored Sadiq Wali as the Party’s duly nominated governorship candidate in the State.
By this ruling, the appellate Court effectively set aside the judgment of a High Court that had earlier recognised Muhammad Abacha as the PDP gubernatorial flag bearer in Kano.
Consequentially, the Court ordered that Wali, earlier recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), remains the validly elected PDP candidate.
The three-man-panel of the Court, in a consensus judgment read by Justice Usman Musale, said the law is clear that only the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party can conduct the gubernatorial primary elections of a party and since Abacha did not participate at the primary election conducted by NEC that produced Wali, he thus had no locus standi to challenge the said primary.
In dismissing the judgement of the Federal high court that upheld the primary election that produced Mohammad Abacha, the appellate Court as his emergence as the party candidate was lacking in merit because the law does not recognize the so-called primary.
The Kano PDP chapter has been embroiled in leadership crisis that saw the emergence of two factional candidates, Abacha and Wali from the parallel gubernatorial primaries conducted in the State.
The division was further highlighted on Thursday, February 9, 2023 when the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the party hierarchy shunned the usual handing over of party flag to the gubernatorial candidate as part of presidential campaign rally agenda.
