The Court of Appeal sitting in Kano on Friday validated Muhammad Sadiq Wali as the rightful gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State.
The court subsequently dismissed the judgment of the Federal High Court that upheld the primary election that produced Mohammad Abacha as the party candidate for lacking in merit.
The appellate court consequentially ordered that Sadiq Wali, who was earlier recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), remains the valid gubernatorial candidate of the PDP for Kano state.
In a consensus judgment of the three-man panel read by Justice Usman Musale, the court held that the law is clear that only the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party can conduct the gubernatorial primary elections of a party.
In passing the judgment, the court says since Abacha did not participate in the primary election conducted by the NEC that produced Wali, he thus had no locus standi to challenge the said primary.
