Mohammed Abacha has asked a Federal High Court in Kano to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop his substitution as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State.
Abacha, in his counter affidavit, has also challenged the submission of Jafar Sani Bello, who came second in the primary, that he was not a member of the party because he was duly issued with a waiver and screened as a member of the political party.
The originating summons brought by his lawyers, J.Y. Musa (SAN) and Reuben Atabo (SAN), also has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Sadiq Aminu Wali, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); and Alhaji Shehu Wada Sagagi as defendants.
Abacha contends that he won the PDP primary which was held on May 25 and was monitored by INEC by polling 736 votes against the 710 scored by Ja’afar Sani Bello before his name was substituted with that of Wali.
He wants the court to restrain the PDP and its state chairman Sagagi from parading Wali as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2023 general elections.
He argued that INEC was precluded from “recognizing and publishing the name of the 2nd defendant (Wali) as the gubernatorial candidate of the 3rd defendant (PDP) having issued to the plaintiff (Abacha) the certified true copies of the list of winners of the primary election of the 3rd defendant (PDP) in Kano which is monitored and which contains the name of the plaintiff as the governorship candidate of the 3rd defendant in Kano State.”
The case has been adjourned to September 12 for the hearing.
