Sokoto APC crisis: Gada gets upper hand as FCT court declines Wamakko’s application

An FCT High Court has declined an application by a faction of the APC in Sokoto State loyal to a former governor of the state, Aliyu Wamakko, to set aside its earlier judgement over the disputed congresses in the state.

There has been an ongoing battle for the soul of Sokoto APC between Wamakko and Senator Abubakar Gada.

Justice A. O. Musa yesterday ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application having already ruled on it, adding that an appeal had been entered on the judgement and records transmitted.

The Wamakko faction brought the application seeking to join the suit on the grounds that the group, as an interested party, was not joined in the original suit while the judgement of the court on December 16, 2021 over the parallel congresses in the state affected them.

The judge had, based on the provisions of sections 223(1)(a), (2) of the APC Constitution, barred the APC National Convention from substituting the name of Mainasara Abubakar Sani and his officials “who were duly elected” in the congresses conducted in the state as well as stopped the inhibition of their functions.

A faction of the state chapter of the party loyal to Gada, which includes, Sirajo Abubakar, Usman Abdullahi Ahmed, Zayyanu Shehu, Auwal Abubakar, Abdulkadir Muhammad, Abdullahi Muhammad had filed the suit challenging the congresses of 2021.

They joined Mainasara Abubakar Sani and APC as defendants in the matter.

But Sani filed a counter-claim which was granted by the high court in the judgment, thus forcing the Sirajo Abubakar group to file an appeal.

The application by the Wamakko group, which was brought by the party’s state chairman, Isa Sadiq Acida, had asked the high court to restrain APC from recognising Sani and others as officers and delegates of the ward, LG and state congresses of the party which held on October 13, September 14, and October 16, 2021, respectively.