Bauchi Gov, Ex-Air Chief, Others Dragged To Court Over Alleged Double Nominations

Bauchi Gov, Ex-Air Chief, Others Dragged To Court Over Alleged Double Nominations

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed; a former Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar; his running mate, Shehu Musa and candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Haliru Jika have been dragged before a Federal High Court in Abuja over  alleged unlawful nominations for the 2023 general elections.

The court is being asked to disqualify the governor, ex-Chief of Air Staff and Senator Jika from participating in the 2023 governorship election in the state on the ground of alleged double nominations from their respective political parties.

The request forms part of the prayers being sought in three separate suits filed by the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), through its lawyer, Chris Kelechi Udeoyibo.

In the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1302/2022; FHC/ABJ/CS/1303/2022 and FHC/ABJ/CS/1304/2022, the plaintiff claims that Mohammed, Abubakar’s running mate, Musa and Jika violated the Electoral Act by allegedly engaging in double nomination.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1302 which has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as defendants, the plaintiff wants the court to void the candidacy of Mohammed, a former FCT Minister, who is the governorship candidate of the PDP and the incumbent governor of Bauchi State in the 2023 election.

The PRP is contending that having participated as a candidate in the May  28, 2022 presidential primary of the PDP and later as a candidate in the PDP’s governorship primary in Bauchi State on June 4, 2022, Mohammed is in violation of Section 177(c) of the Constitution as well as sections 84(13) and 115(d) of the Electoral Act 2022.

It wants the court to among others, restrain INEC from recognising Mohammed as a candidate of the PDP in the next general elections and to bar him from further parading himself as the candidate of the PDP for the governorship election.

In a supporting affidavit, the PRP governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Ahmed Umar Farouk stated that having participated in both primaries, “during which he signed two nomination papers or result forms in respect of two different constituencies at the same time in breach of Section 177(c) of the Constitution as well as sections 84(13) and 115(d) of the Electoral Act 2022,  INEC should be restrained from allowing Mohammed and his party participate in the next governorship election in the state.

Farouk added that no law allows a candidate,  including Mohammed to sign two nomination papers or results forms for both presidential and governorship primaries, which are two constituencies, at the same time and in the same election period in the 2023 general elections.