Senate President Ahmed Lawan has found a way to successfully ‘cheat’ the 2022 Electoral Act.
He contested the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Primary but won the primary for the senatorial seat of Yobe North.
The Supreme Court affirmed him as the candidate for the party against Bashir Machina.
Senate President Lawan, on Monday, was confirmed as the APC senatorial candidate for Yobe North.
Before this, the APC dragged Bashir Machina to the supreme court following an order from a Federal High Court in Damaturu recognizing Machina as the party’s candidate.
In the new Judgement, the Supreme Court ruled out the Federal High Court’s order because the trial was not supposed to have started.
How It Happened
In a senatorial primary election held on May 28, 2022, and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Machina won and was declared the representative of the party.
While this was happening, Lawan was chasing the presidential ticket as he believed he was President Muhammadu Buhari’s “anointed”.
Although, Governor Nasir El-Rufai later claimed the president was also shocked when he heard that he was sponsoring the senate president for the presidential ticket.
At the APC presidential primary in June, Lawan, just like others who contested, lost the presidential ticket to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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Following his loss, the APC went ahead to conduct another primary election in Yobe north which Lawan won.
Machina was not aware of this fresh election and did not contest it.
After the election, the APC forwarded Lawan’s name as the candidate for the senatorial seat.
The Legal Battle
Upon discovery that his name was not sent to the electoral body as the candidate, Machina dragged the APC to court.
At the court, Machina alleged criminality and forgery, asking the court to declare him as the right candidate.
His lawyers started the trial on Originating Summons instead of Writ of Summons which only needed to be proved by oral evidence.
Trials started on Originating summons must have documentary evidence that Machina did not present before the court.
However, the Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu declared him the right candidate.
The APC then brought the case before the Court of Appeal but the judgment was still in Machina’s favor.
However, the relentless party brought the case before the Supreme Court.
The party asked the court to determine if the criminality allegations trial started by Machina’s lawyers, were properly commenced.
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The court on Monday, February 6, 2023, ruled that the trial was not properly commenced and gave legality to the second primary election on June 9, 2022.
The Judgement
The Supreme court in a majority judgment allowed the appeal filed by the APC.
Delivering the judgment, three out of a five-member panel agreed with the position of the APC that the suit at the trial court ought not to have commenced.
“The bedrock of the suit shows that there were allegations of fraudulent practices against the appellants,” Centus Nweze a panel member said.
“That the 1st respondent accused the APC of fraudulently substituting his name with that of Lawan.
“Where there is an allegation of fraud it should not be commenced by an originating summons.
“There was a need to call witnesses to prove allegations of fraud.”
However, Adamu Jauro and Emmanuel Agim, two judges of the supreme court, affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal.
“I affirm the brilliant judgment of the appellate court as to the appropriateness of the use of originating summons,” Agim said.
Agim said relevant facts showed the withdrawal of the senate president from the senatorial race to pursue his presidential bid.
He said facts also showed that Machina won the senatorial primary, adding that the APC did not give INEC 21 days’ mandatory notice before going ahead to conduct another primary election on June 9.
He said the party did not cancel the May 28 election before going ahead to conduct another primary election.
The justice also noted that INEC was absent and did not monitor the June 9 election.
“The appellant has not contradicted that findings of fact are perverse or unreasonable,” Agim said.
“The failure to challenge the findings of facts defeats the entire appeal.”
What The Law Says
Speaking on Channel TV’s Sunrise Daily in 2022, Mike Igini, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom made a statement.
Interpreting Section 115 (D) of the Electoral Act of 2022, Igini noted the punishment for participating in two primary elections.
“Section 115 (D) of the 2022 Electoral Act stipulates that no person shall sign, obtain more than one form as a candidate for different election and the offence for that under subsection K, beyond the financial, you will go for two years imprisonment,” he said.
Lawan had purchased the nomination form for the presidency which he lost and went ahead to contest again for the senatorial seat.
In line with the statement of Justice Agim, INEC was reportedly not given the 21 days’ notice for the fresh election that Lawan won.
Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that a political party that intends to conduct primaries shall give INEC at least 21 days’ Notice, to nominate candidates for any of the elective offices specified under the Act.
In this light, Lawan not only cheated the electoral act by contesting in two primaries but APC also conducted two primaries without canceling the first or informing INEC.
