By Ted Odogwu
The Kano State Peoples Democratic Party factional governorship candidate, Muhammad Sani Abacha, on Thursday instituted a legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission before a Federal High Court in the state.
According to a concurrent originating summon filed on Thursday, Abacha was seeking to be declared as the recognised Kano State governorship candidate of the PDP and validate the primary election that produced him, which was monitored by the first defendant, INEC.
The plaintiff is seeking the court to order the substitution of Sadiq Wali’s whom INEC published as the Kano PDP governorship candidate.
Abacha argued that the primary election conducted on May 25th, 2022 under the state party leadership of the 4th defendant, Shehu Wada Sagagi, was in compliance, with the provision of section 84 (1) & (5) (b) (i) & (ii) of the Electoral Act 2022 and so his name ought to have been published by the first defendant as the candidate of the third defendant, PDP.
Similarly, the plaintiff is seeking an injunction, restraining the first defendant, its officers, agents or privies from recognizing the second defendant or any other persons apart from the plaintiff, as the authentic and lawful gubernatorial candidate of the third defendant in Kano State for the 2023 governorship election.
On July 22, 2022, INEC published Wali’s name as the Kano PDP governorship candidate.
INEC had, however, at a news conference in Kano on July 1, 2022, said the Commission recognised the PDP governorship primary election that produced Abacha.
It was earlier reported that the two contending contestants, Abacha and Wali both emerged winners of two parallel PDP primaries held in Kano, with each of them claiming to be the authentic governorship candidate of the party in the state.
Responding to questions from newsmen at a press briefing, the Kano INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Risque Shehu, had said, ”As far as the commission is concerned, the election conducted by Shehu Sagagi-led PDP faction is the authentic election because he was recognized by the law.”
He added, “As at the time the PDP Primary was conducted, Shehu Sagagi’s faction was the one recognised by the law, as the state chairman of the party in Kano State and is also the only elections that we deployed our staff to monitor”.
Meanwhile, with the suit number, FHC/KN/CS/204/2022, filed by the Counsel to the plaintiff, Barrister Saeed Mohammed Tudun-Wada, the date for commencement of which has not been fixed, however, expressed confidence that the wrong done to his client would be redressed by the court.