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Bid to unseat Tambuwal reopens at Abuja high court

By Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja
07 February 2017   |   2:52 am
A fresh legal battle to remove Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal from office began yesterday at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Aminu Waziri Tambuwal PHOTO: nationalmirroronline.net

A fresh legal battle to remove Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal from office began yesterday at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

This was as an aggrieved governorship aspirant in the December 4, 2014 primaries in Sokoto, Senator Umaru Dahiru (plaintiff), approached the court, seeking an order to nullify the return of Tambuwal as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2015 governorship election in the state.

The legal action is in compliance with the Supreme Court judgement of December 9 last year, which disagreed with Tambuwal in his claim that challenging his nomination by APC even after his election and inauguration as Sokoto governor amounted to a mere academic and hypothetical exercise.

The apex court had consequently returned the case file to the Federal High Court for a fresh trial on the ground that there is life in the case in spite of the conduct of the governorship election that produced Tambuwal. It also ordered an accelerated hearing of the matter.

Dahiru, in the instant suit has also applied to the court for an order of subrogation, directing APC to declare him winner of the primary poll, as the person entitled to be sworn-in as the governor.

His argument hinged on the ground that the December 4, 2014, APC primaries was conducted in gross violation of section 87 of the 2010 Electoral Act and the APC 2014 election guideline.

He also sought court’s declaration that it is unlawful for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to act on a candidate nominated by the APC for the purpose of the general election when such a candidate was elected in violation of the electoral guideline established by APC itself.

Dahiru also asked the court to declare that in the circumstances of the primary election, it was he and not Tambuwal that was entitled to be returned as the governorship candidate of the APC for the election conducted on April 11, 2015.

When the matter came up yesterday, counsel to the plaintiff, Mr. Ikoro Ikoro, informed Justice Gabriel Kolawole that he had filed a motion on January 31, to amend the reliefs being sought in the originating summons.

Subsequently, Justice Kolawole adjourned the matter till February 28 for the determination of the plaintiff’s motion.

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