The intra party crises in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the wake of 2019 general elections has taken another turn on the party as the Supreme Court on Friday sacked all its candidates who won elections in Zamfara State.
The five-man apex court led by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, removed all candidates of the party in the state in the 2019 general elections due to the party’s failure to conduct election for nomination of candidates as required by law.
In a unanimous judgment of the court, delivered by Justice Paul Galinje, the court ordered candidates of other political parties that came second to take over as the duly elected contestants.
It will be recalled that the same fate had befallen the APC in Rivers State where all its candidates were swept away by law courts on the failure of the party to legally nominate candidates for all elective offices in the state.
In the latest decision, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment of the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal to the effect that the APC did not conduct any valid primary election and as such had no candidate for any of the elections in the state.
Justice Galinje described the votes polled by the APC candidates in the elections as wasted, adding that the party and the candidates with the second highest votes and the spread in the various elections were the valid winners.
Justice Galinje described the votes polled by the APC candidates in the elections as wasted, adding that the party and the candidates with the second highest votes and the spread in the various elections were the valid winners.
With this judgment the APC has lost the governorship, the National Assembly elections and State House of Assembly conducted in Zamfara State on February 23 and March 11, 2019 to the opposition.
Two factions of the party led by Senator Kabiru Marafa and governor, Abdullaziz Yari had locked horns in supremacy battle over who controls the soul of the party in the state.
The irreconcilable differences by the two factions denied the party a valid primary election for sponsorship of candidates as required by law.
