Zamfara: Senate Leader Laments Supreme Court Ruling

Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan says the Supreme Court judgment nullifying wins recorded by candidates of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) in Zamfara is a setback for the party.

Naijaparry reports that the apex court had on Friday ruled that the APC did not conduct valid primaries in the build-up to the 2019 elections in Zamfara as it voided all votes cast for the party. Consequently, As a result, Nigeria’s electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC), on Saturday
declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bello Mattawalle, winner of the Zamfara state governorship election.

The commission also announced Certificates of Return would be issued to the governor-elect, his deputy, three senators and seven reps-elect in Abuja on Monday.

Reacting to this development, Lawan, who is running to become Senate President in the 9th Assembly, said, “The Supreme Court judgment on Zamfara State is a setback for the ruling party because the APC lost three senators and seven or eight in the House of Representatives.”

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, the Yobe senator added that, “this leaves us with a new set of numbers of representation in the 9th Assembly. The APC had 65 senators before the judgment, we now have 62. The PDP now has 44 because it had 41 before Friday’s judgment, while the Young Progressive Party has one.

“As it is now, there are two cases that have yet been determined in Imo State. The case of that of the outgoing governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, and that of Senator Ben Uwajumogu, which we are anticipating to win. If we have these two, we will have 64, which makes us to be in the majority.

“But, for me, the issue is not the distribution or the majority. What is important is our ability to come together to work for the interest of Nigerians in every part of the country.”