June 24, (THEWILL) – The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) over Yobe North Senatorial District ticket for the 2023 election, has taken a new dimension.
THEWILL reports that Bashir Sherrif Machina had emerged winner of the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 28, 2022, to clinch the Yobe North senatorial ticket of the party in the 2023 election.
But on Friday, one of the aspirants for the Yobe North APC Senatorial primary, Abubakar Abubakar Jinjiri, filed a suit before Justice Fadima Murtala Aminu, of the Federal High Court, Damaturu, Yobe, seeking to void the APC senatorial primary, where Machina emerged.
His counsel, Barr Usman Lukman Nuhu, said his client is challenging Machina, both the APC state and National headquarters, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over exclusion.
He said Jinjiri was deprived of participating in the Senatorial primary, despite his presence at the venue.
“I believe you have the copy of the result sheets of the primary, you could clearly see that my client’s name and the vote he got are not there”, the lawyer said during a chat with newsmen on Friday.
He stated the exclusion of an aspirant contravened section (84) sub-section (3 and 4) of the electoral act.
The case was, however, adjourned till July 21, 2022, for hearing.
Meanwhile, Machina, who polled 289 votes in the APC primary election, is currently locked in a battle with President of the Senate, Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan.
Lawan had lost the Presidential primary of the APC held on June 8, but Machina refused to step down for him.
But the APC leadership under Abdullahi Adamu, had submitted the name of Senate President Lawan, as candidate of the Yobe North Senatorial District for 2023, a development that forced Machina to seek legal redress.
This had irked Machina and his supporters, who accused APC of being anti-democratic.
However, on Friday, Machina stormed the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Yobe State, to obtain a certified true copy of the primary election, which the commission monitored.
The document certified by the electoral office on June 23, 2022, shows that Machina polled 289 votes, out of the 300 votes cast by the delegates at the APC senatorial primary.
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