Appeal Court nullifies Zamfara PDP governorship primary

An Appeal Court sitting in Sokoto State, presided over by Justice Muhammad Shuaibu, has dismissed an appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, thereby nullifying his candidature.

Delivering its judgement in a unanimous decision by the three panels of judges, Justice Shuaibu said the appeal was an abuse of the judicial process and lacked merit.

Shuaibu further explained that Lawal had no right to appeal the judgement he already complied with.

Recall that a PDP governorship aspirant in the state, Ibrahim Shehu, had challenged Lawal’s emergence as the PDP candidate.

Shehu argued that the election that returned Lawal was marred with irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act and PDP guidelines.

Being dissatisfied, he approached the Federal High Court in Gusau, which nullified the primary and ordered PDP to conduct a rerun within 14 days.