Kaduna APC Urges PDP, Ashiru To Join Hands With Gov Sani

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru, to join hands with Governor Uba Sani to move the state forward following the governorship election tribunal ruling on Thursday. 

The state secretary of the APC, Yahaya Baba Pate, in a statement while reacting to the ruling urged the opposition to stop misleading the public. 

“The attention of the APC in Kaduna State has been drawn to a statement with the heading: “Tribunal Nullifies Uba Sani’s Election.” issued by Hon. Isa Mohammed Ashiru, the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general elections.

“For the sake of the unsuspecting populace and the many contradictions that laced his statement, we deem it necessary to set the record straight”

The statement added: “In a statement issued on Thursday after the judgment of the tribunal affirming the election of Governor Uba Sani, Hon. Ashiru informed his followers that the tribunal nullified his excellency’s election. Ashiru stated that on the preliminary objection, the tribunal,  based on the majority of 2:1 judges upheld the preliminary objection of the respondent to the effect that the application for pre-hearing was done prematurely i.e. before the service of the last set of petitioners’ reply to the 2nd respondent’s reply to the petition was served.”  

“This is an open admittance of the fact the tribunal agreed with the lawyers of the respondents and threw out his case, thereby exposing the duplicity in his claim that his petition succeeded. In an open concession to the legal mishap that befell him, he stated that he would pursue an appeal process. We wonder how a victor in a legal battle will suddenly run to announce his willingness to pursue an appeal,” the APC said. 

…Guber Election Remains Inconclusive –Ashiru, PDP

The governorship candidate of the PDP in the March 18 election, Isah Mohammed Ashiru, has insisted that the election remains inconclusive, adding that the claim by Governor Uba Sani that his election was upheld by the tribunal was misleading.

Ashiru stated this at press briefing at the weekend following the judgment of the tribunal that looked at the merit of the case that should have called for a re-run in four local government areas, but dismissed Ashiru’s petition against Sani on technical groups for filing the petition out of time.

However, a press statement by the state secretary of the APC, Yahaya Baba Pate, knocked Ashiru, saying the tribunal had scuttled his long-time ambition of ruling Kaduna State in 2023 and beyond.

Ashiru said; “Governor Uba Sani is claiming that his mandate was upheld by  the tribunal. This is misleading and very unfortunate.  It is unexpected of a leader of his calibre to claim such. The truth of the matter is that I have met with my legal team and we discussed extensively about the outcome of the tribunal judgment. We are going to recover our mandate. The tribunal has declared the election inconclusive in four local government areas where election did not take place. The tribunal has done its bit. We are going to address the grey areas raised at the Appeal Court. So the good people of Kaduna should remain calm and law abiding because we are going to reclaim our mandate”.