Court Prayed To Drop Niger APC Candidate

A Federal High Court sitting in Minna, Niger State has fixed November 9, 2022, for the hearing of the suit challenging Abubakar Lado as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the Gurara, Tafa, Suleja Federal Constituency of Niger State in the 2023 general elections.

In the case instituted by Alhaji Haruna Abubakar Arafat Magaji, the plaintiff claims that he is the authentic candidate of the party in the federal constituency having been elected in a rescheduled party primaries held on 31st May 2022, after the first primaries held on May 27th, was allegedly marred by irregularities.

The counsel to the plaintiff, Aliyu Hussaini, said in an interview with journalists in Minna yesterday that APC sent the name of Lado to INEC as its candidate for the election in error instead of Alhaji Haruna Arafat Magaji who won the rescheduled primaries.

He argued that APC had admitted the error it made in forwarding Lado’s name to INEC, adding that “all we need now is a court order to this effect, and this why we approach the court.”

Also speaking with journalists, Chris Isuagu, counsel to Lado who is the incumbent member representing the Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, argued that there were no other primaries held other than that of the May 27th held at Suleja stadium.

“Lado won the primaries monitored by INEC in Niger State. His name was forwarded by APC to INEC as its candidate of the constituency and INEC published Lado’s name in June 2022,” he averred.