24th February, 2011
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday adjourned to Friday 4th March to deliver judgment in a suit filed by son of late Head of State Gen. Sanni Abacha, Mohammed, alleging attempts by Congress for Progressive Change to remove his name from list of candidates submitted to INEC for the 2011 election.
The presiding judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole adjourned the matter after the adoption of written addresses by parties in the suit. Mohammed Abacha wants the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission; INEC, from recognizing, retired Brig. Gen. Lawal Jaffaru Isah, as the Kano State gubernatorial candidate of the Congress for Progressive; CPC.
Mohammed claims he scored the highest vote of 144,066 at the party’s governorship primary and was duly declared winner by the Chairman of the CPC Election Team, Prof. M. D Suleiman and wants the Court to declare that “it is illegal, unlawful and contrary to both the Electoral Act, 2010 and the party’s guideline” to substitute his name with Isah who scored 78,671.
Adopting his address at the proceedings, his counsel; Mr. Abdullahi Haruna, said the allegation that Mohammed bribed the state executives of the party to emerge winner as spurious and cannot be used to deny him the mandate given freely to him by party members who voted at the primaries. Besides, he said the allegation is an after thought since it came after Mohammed had been duly declared winner.
INEC confirmed Mohammed Abacha as the true winner of the party’s primaries in a Counter Affidavit, filed by its lawyer, Mr. Ebuka Nwaeze. According to the electoral body, from the report submitted by its officials who monitored CPC primary in Kano state, Abacha scored 144,066 votes while Brig. Gen. Lawal Jaffaru Isah scored 78,671. Others candidates; Senator Rufai Hanga scored 45,618, Dr. Awalu Anwa scored 30,410 while Engr. Magaji Abdullahi scored 5,759 votes.
By Section 87(4) of the Electoral Act, 2010, INEC argued that only the name of aspirants with the highest votes in primaries could be forwarded as candidates in elections.
Citing paragraph 3 of the party’s Constitution, Mr. Haruna posited that only a person who wins the primary shall be nominated as a candidate and urged the Court to discountenance the submission of the CPC and Isah that who claimed that Mohammed failed to seek internal redress as laid down in the party’s constitution.
Meanwhile, the senior advocate, Mr. Damian Dodo, told journalists that the matter is being resolved amicably by parties and that there was remote possibility of having a new case against the drug manufacturers; Pfizer, over settlements and claims.
Other defendants in the matter are Pfizer Incorporated; Pfizer, David Odiwo , the secretary of the Trust Fund, Attorney General of the federation and Corporate Affairs Commission.
By Nnamdi Felix / Abuja
