INEC withdraws 2 certificates of return in Kaduna

The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has withdrawn two certificates-of-return issued to Hon. Haruna Aliyu, popularly known as Chakis and one Hon. Ibrahim Ismail following court orders.

Aliyu and Ismail are members of the Kaduna House of Assembly, representing Kaduna North II (Kawo) and Kaduna South II (Tudun Wada) constituency, respectively since 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

INEC, while upholding the court orders to withdraw the certificates of the duo and other 23 persons disclosed that 20 of the 25 certificates-of-return were withdrawn from All Progressive Congress (APC) members to other APC members; while two from People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members were withdrawn and issued to other PDP members.

Aliyu and Ismail whose certificates were withdrawn contested in the primaries where Hon. Yusuf Salihu scored 104 votes and Hon. Nasiru Usman had 49 votes at the said elections held on October 7, 2018.

Meanwhile, APC had submitted the names of the winners of the primaries but later allegedly substituted with the names of Hon. Haruna Aliyu and Hon. Hon. Ibrahim Ismail who had scored 24 and 35 votes, respectively to INEC as the party’s candidates.

However, the development led to legal fireworks to reclaim the stolen mandate at the Federal High Court in Kaduna.

In the judgment delivered on the 16th of April 2019 at the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, the presiding Judge, Justice Z. B. Abubakar said Hon. Nasiru Usman, having scored the highest number of votes cast at the primaries conducted on the said date for elective position as member State House of Assembly representing Tudun Wada Constituency, otherwise known as Kaduna South II, Kaduna State, is the nominated candidate for the general election.

Justice Abubakar stated that the purported substitution of the name of Hon. Yusuf Salihu for the Kaduna State House of Assembly election Kaduna North II Constituency is in violation of the provision of section 33 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

Following the court orders, INEC had adhered to the directives and had issued certificates-of-return to Hon. Yusuf Salihu and Hon. Nasiru Usman as the winners of the 2019 Kaduna State House of Assembly election.

Abdulwaheed Olayinka Adubi, Kaduna