Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano
The sacked Kano Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Sadiq Aminu Wali, has revealed his intention to go to the Appeal Court after a Federal high court judgment nullified his candidacy as the party’s standard bearer in the state.
A Federal High Court sitting in Kano had Thursday declared Mohammed Sani Abacha, as the duly elected gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Kano.
Reacting to the judgment, Wali, son of former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, said he would reclaim his mandate at the Appeal Court.
Speaking to journalists in Kano yesterday, Alhaji Wali called on PDP supporters to remain calm, saying that his lawyers are studying the “error-laden judgment” in preparation for appeal.
According to Wali, his lawyers had already discovered several errors in the judgment, which would give him a firm ground to reclaim what he described as “mandate of Kano people” at the Appeal Court.
“This judgment is riddled with errors but because I am not a legal practitioner, I cannot say much about this, but my lawyers will speak about it.”
“This judgment is riddled with errors but because I am not a legal practitioner, I cannot say much on this, but my lawyers will speak about it.”
He said another error made by the judge was that the notice of the primary election was served to the national body of INEC, not state headquarters.
Against this backdrop, Wali explained that section 82 of the Electoral Act 2022 says notice of primary election should be served to national headquarters of INEC, not state, in not less than 21 days.
“We served the notice before the deadline, but the judge declared the primary election illegal because the national body of PDP served headquarters of INEC not state headquarters. This is a big mistake. The PDP was on course to have served INEC national headquarters,” he explained.
On his part, Wali’s counsel, Nasir Adamu Aliyu (SAN) said they had recorded more than 20 grounds for defense at the Appeal.
