An FCT High Court has refused to grant an application for Stay of Execution of its judgement which nullified the election of one Senator and five House of Representatives members elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Bauchi state.
The court had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue certificates of return to candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who came second in the elections in the affected senatorial district and five Federal Constituencies.
But INEC refused to issue them with the certificate of returns claiming that the affected parties have applied for Stay of Execution. However, the FCT High Court, presided over by Justice Bello Kawu today rejected the application and ordered INEC to issue them with certificate of return.
The court had declared as null and void the publication of the names of APC candidates as winners of the National Assembly election in the affected constituencies.
The court also ruled that the APC “does not have and cannot sponsor any candidate for the five Federal Constituencies and the Bauchi Senatorial District for 2019 National Assembly Election.
The judge further declared that the votes scored by all APC candidates as null and void, and consequently ordered INEC to issue Certificate of Return to the candidates that come second in the elections.
The court order followed an application filed by the PDP candidates who challenged the emergence of the APC candidates because the party did not conduct any valid primary elections through which their names were submitted to INEC as flag-bearers for the party.
Although the judgment was delivered on May 16, 2019 but INEC has refused to issue certificate of return to the PDP lawmakers-elect even though the commission has withdrawn not fewer than 60 certificates of return in compliance with various court judgements.
The affected PDP lawmakers-elect include, Garba Dahiru who replaces Lawal Yahaya Gumau as Bauchi south senator-elect, Jatau Mohammed Auwal replaces Omar Tata Abdulkadir, Mohammed Ibrahim replaces Muhammed Musa Pali and Aminu Aliyu Guru replaces Mohammed Sabo.
Others are Ahmad Madaki Gololo who replaced Garba Gololo Mohammed and Hassan Ibrahim Galadima replaces Manu Soro Mansur.
However, the Independent National Electoral Commission has refused to issue the affected PDP lawmakers elect certificate of return despite the fact that the commission has been complying with court judgments in other cases having withdrawn not fewer than 64 certificate of returns so far.
A statement issued by the chairman of the People’s Demorcatic Party in Bauchi state Alhaji Hamza Akuyam welcomed the decision of the court and called on INEC chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu to comply with the judgment immediately inline with the Commission’s decision to to obey all court judgements.
He wondered why INEC which had withdrawn about 64 certificate of returns in compliance with various court judgments will choose to disobey that of Bauchi state PDP.
