Following the Supreme Court judgment of last Friday, in which the apex court declined jurisdiction to entertain the appeal filed by members of Senator Yakubu Garba Lado faction of the Katsina State chapter of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) against the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, a new twist emerged yesterday with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) claiming mandate for the 10 seats.
In a letter dated December 19, signed by PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje and addressed to Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, the party asked the commission to issue certificates of return to its candidates who came second in the April 9 election.
The ruling party further demanded that in the alternative, re-run elections in the affected senatorial districts and the federal constituencies are the irreducible minimum acceptable to? it in this matter.
Baraje specifically stated: “We trust that the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on December 16, 2011 in Suit No.SC/157/2011 (consolidated) Lado and 42 others vs CPC and 5 ors is with its full effect.
“It is an undisputable fact that the names of the 43 applicants in the above case were never submitted to INEC as candidates of CPC. They became candidates vide a judgment of the Federal High Court, delivered on February 25, 2011, granting the claims of the plaintiffs, now appellants which judgments was set aside by the Appeal Court.”
The PDP further stated that prior to this development, the names of the first set of CPC candidates have been dropped before election. Upon the delivery of the Court of Appeal judgment, the CPC forwarded to INEC, a list of candidates purporting them to be its authentic candidates and asking INEC to withdraw the certificates issued to Senator Lado’s group and re-issue same to the new persons.???
The party said when the commission refused the CPC request on the grounds that the faction was not party to the suit before the Court of Appeal, the faction filed a joinder application at the appeal before the apex court which was also refused.