JUST IN: Taraba - Alhassan, APC have no right to challenge Ishaku – Court of Appeal

A Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, has stated that Aisha
Alhassan and the All Progressives Congress have no right to challenge
the election in which Governor Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic
Party emerged since none of them are members of the PDP.
The court has also dismissed arguments by the appellant that the
Tribunal should have accepted the statements of the witnesses because
they were not properly signed.
Thus, the appellant argued, the Tribunal should have struck out the
petition. The court held that the statements upon examination, were
properly signed and stamped by the Secretary to the Tribunal who
statutorily was the head of the registry of the Tribunal.
The Appellate Court held that the petitioner fully complied with all
statutory stipulations for filing of statement of witnesses and that
the Tribunal was right to have accepted them. The court also argued
that it will amount to great injustice if the petitioner is held
responsible for the mistake of the registry of the Tribunal.
Also, the court dismissed arguments by the appellant that the reliefs
sought by the petitioner are incongruent. The appellant had argued
that the petitioner cannot be claiming that the election was marred by
malpractices and at the same time, asking to be declared winner of the
election. The court ruled that reliefs sought by the petitioner are
congruous and consistent with one another.

The Court has ruled that the method of nomination is not one of the
grounds for disqualification of a candidate for the election as stated
in the constitution and the electoral act. It also ruled that the
issue of PDP primary which produced Ishaku was a pre-election matter
that should not have been entertained by the Tribunal.
The court also ruled that only INEC and members of PDP who
participated in the primary election has the right to complain. The
Court said whether the primary of a political party was done right or
not cannot be subject of an election petition. The court said the most
important question was whether the appellant was a member of PDP and
was sponsored by the party for the gubernatorial. The court ruled that
Ishaku was validly nominated candidate of PDP for the election and he
participated in the election.
The court has ruled that Darius Ishaku was qualified to contest
election of Taraba State as at the time of the election having been
duly nominated by the PDP. The issue of conduct of primary, the court
said is a domestic matter of a political party which the other party
cannot benefit from.