APC Yobe North senatorial candidacy: Court rules in favour of Machina

Abiodun OBA

The All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission have been ordered to recognise Bashir Machina as Yobe North senatorial candidate of the party.

The presiding judge, Justice Fadima Murtala Aminu, of Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu nullified the parallel primary election that produced the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, on June 9, 2022.

The judge also ordered the APC to forward the name of Machina to INEC as the authentic winner of the primary held in May.

The judgement was coming weeks after Machina distanced himself from notice of withdrawal from the race which has since gone viral.

A copy of the notice obtained by our correspondent showed a letter allegedly written by Machina addressed to the party’s National Chairman stating his withdrawal from the Yobe North senatorial race.

Recall that INEC earlier on, denied recognising Lawan and Senator Godswill Akpabio as senatorial candidates of the APC respectively.

Both Lawan and Akpabio had contested the APC Presidential primaries. However, after losing, both of them were listed as senatorial candidates by the APC, but INEC refused to recognise them.

Lawan, Akpabio, and Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, had chosen to pick Senate tickets for Yobe North, Ebonyi South and Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial Districts respectively, after losing out at the presidential primaries of the APC.