On Thursday, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, dashed the hopes of Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, who is seeking re-election to the National Assembly in 2023.
Lawan is locked in a battle with Bashir Sheriff Machina for a re-election to the Yobe North Senatorial District on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Lawan, a former Education Officer who worked in the Yobe State Ministry of Education, entered politics in 1999 and was elected to the House of Representatives to represent Yobe State’s Bade/Jakusko Federal Constituency on the platform of the opposition All Peoples Party (APP).
He ran for the Yobe North Senatorial seat in 2003 and won. Since then, he has won elections with ease, especially since defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in early 2015.
His attempt to step up his political game in 2023 by running for the APC presidential primary has undoubtedly resulted in an ongoing political battle with another APC chieftain, Bashir Sheriff Machina, with both claiming the sole ticket.
Machina is relying on the Yobe North Senatorial primary held on June 28, when he claimed Senator Lawan was running for the APC presidential primary, which he lost to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Machina received 289 votes out of the 300 delegates who voted in the primary.
He claimed that the APC primary election was held at the Yobe North Senatorial headquarters and was overseen by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, as required by the 2022 amended Electoral Act.
Machina insisted that he won the ticket and urged the Electoral umpire and the All Progressives Congress to recognise him as such.
Lawan, the President of the Ninth Senate, argued in a media interview that he participated in a repeat primary election to return to the Tenth Senate in 2023, a claim that APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, corroborated.
In the midst of the Yobe North ticket claims and counter-claims, Adamu told journalists at the APC National Headquarters, “All I know is that Senator Ahmad Lawan contested for the APC Yobe North Senatorial primary election and he won.”
“I don’t have time for any other negatives or speculations.”
However, political pundits continue to react to the development, with some pointing out that Lawan violated the Electoral Amended Act, 2022, which stated that “double nomination was not allowed.”
During the controversies, documents claiming Machina’s withdrawal from the race surfaced.
In response to the withdrawal letter, Machina called it a forgery and urged the Yobe North electorate to ignore it and continue to support his ambition.
In a copy of the statement he further indicated that the letter was forged by elements who don’t mean well for Yobe North Senatorial district, while insisting that he was in the race to win.
“I was shocked when I discovered that some persons concocted plans to mislead the public, particularly my supporters, into believing that I had withdrawn,” said part of the letter.
“I would like to state unequivocally that the alleged letter was forged.” I never left or resigned from my political party.
“It has come to my attention that some unscrupulous elements have forged my withdrawal letter in order to cause mischief and blackmail.”
He also criticized the letter, claiming that there were dates that were incorrect due to the desperate author’s lack of administrative knowledge.
He demanded that the APC’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, speak out on the “forged letter.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, I have not resigned nor withdrawn my candidacy; I am still a member of the APC and have no plans to change parties.” Insha Allah, I will run for senator on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
“I have already instructed my lawyers to review the forged letter and take appropriate legal action against the perpetrator(s),” he said.
Speaking with a Yobe APC Chieftain, Alhaji Mustapha Abdullahi, on Thursday in Abuja, he lamented that the political intrigues rocking Yobe North could lead to the party losing the election if not handled properly.
He told DAILY POST that neither Bashir Sheriff Machina’s nor Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan’s names had been captured as APC Yobe North candidates, a development he claimed was being exploited by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (PDP).
“My concern is that no one’s name has been reflected as the genuine APC candidate for the APC Yobe North Senatorial seat.” The opposition Peoples Democratic Party is already using this, and if caution is not exercised, the APC will lose.
“Second, the political campaign will begin later this month; who will the APC campaign for?”
“Well, the case is still pending in Court; let’s see what happens,” he said.
Despite the confusion, INEC issued a statement on Thursday stating that it would follow its team’s report on the Yobe North primary election.
A statement signed by the president and made available to journalists
Barr Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, stated that INEC’s attention had been drawn to affidavits and counter-affidavits laying claim to APC Yobe North.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn to a counter affidavit purportedly filed in the Federal High Court, Damaturu Judicial Division relating to the Yobe North Senatorial District primary election,” the statement said.
“Notwithstanding the matter before the Court and without prejudice to the consideration or likely outcome of the case before the Court, the Commission reiterates its earlier position that it stands by the report of its monitoring team, and it was on the basis of that report that the Commission did not publish the name and personal particulars of any candidate for the Yobe North Senatorial District.”
“As a result, the Commission will review its quality assurance protocols, including the preview of all processes filed on its behalf by appropriate ranking Officials to ensure their correctness in all material particulars with all reports and all information at its disposal before their presentation, to ensure that a situation like this does not occur again.”
“The Commission has also instructed the external counsel briefed to handle this matter to reflect the correct position, which aligns with our Monitoring Team’s report.”
With this development, analysts believe Lawan is now facing an uphill battle and will require judicial intervention to make progress.
