By Ebere Agozie
The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed Rufai Hanga as Senator-elect for Kano Central Senatorial District under the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
In the Judgment prepared by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji but delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court held that the INEC’s appeal lacked merit and substance and therefore dismissed it in it’s entirety.
The Apex court kicked out a former Kano state governor Ibrahim shekarau as the candidate of the NNPP in the February 25 National Assembly Election.
Delivering the Judgment in an appeal brought before it by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the apex court upheld the Judgments of a federal high court and the court of appeal both in Abuja which had earlier upheld the candidature of Hanga and the candidate of the party.
The Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had in their previous judgments upheld Rufai Hanga as the senatorial candidate of the NNPP for Kano Central following the withdrawal of Ibrahim Shekarau as a member of the party and senatorial candidate due to irreconcilable differences he had with the party.
However, rather than obeying the federal high court order, the INEC took it upon itself and appealed the judgment at the end of which it lost at the apex court.
Not satisfied with the Judgments of the Federal high court and the court of appeal, the electoral umpire proceeded for the Supreme Court to challenge the concurrent findings of the two courts which upheld Hanga as the lawful candidate of the NNPP Kano central Senatorial District.
(NAN)
