The Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Yola, Adamawa state has reserved judgment in the appeals separately filed by the winner of the APC governorship primary election, Distinguished Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, a.k.a Binani, Malam Nuhu Ribadu who earlier challenged his defeat at the poll before a Federal High Court and the All Progressives Congress, APC that conducted the party’s primaries as endorsed by the INEC.
The panel of Appeal, led by Justice Tani Hassan Yusuf, after the hearing Monday, said the date for judgment would be communicated to the parties.
The counsels to Binani, Ribadu and the APC separately prayed the appeal court to allow their appeals and overrule the earlier judgement of the Federal High Court, sitting in Yola, delivered on the 14th October, 2022, which disqualified their party from participating in the 2023 governorship election following the case filed by Ribadu challenging the conduct of the party’s governorship primary election.
Ribadu, through his counsel, Ibrahim Bawa (SAN) sought the court to direct APC to conduct fresh governorship primary election to enable him participate in the exercise ahead of the 2023 general election, where he alleged that the lower court had erred in law, having declined to order for fresh primaries even after faulting over voting, in clear violation of the party’s guidelines, in the previous governorship primary election.
Binani, through her lead counsel, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), urged the Appeal Court to declare her as the credible candidate of the APC in the forthcoming governorship election, having duly won the party’s primary election so challenged.
The leadership of the APC prayed the court to dismiss the suit instituted by Ribadu and reinstate Binani, the bona-fide winner of the party’s governorship primary election, as its governorship candidate to fly the flag of the party in Adamawa state.