2023: Abuja Court Sacks Zamfara PDP House of Reps Candidate

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday sacked a current House of Representatives member, Hon Sani Umar Dan Galadima as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State for the 2023 general elections.

The lawmaker was kicked out of the 2023 House of Representatives race on account of being a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the time he stood for the primary election in PDP.

Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo cancelled the victory of the lawmaker at the PDP primary election while delivering judgment in a suit instituted against him by two chieftains of PDP, Muzammil Mohammed Idris and Ibrahim Sani.

Justice Ekwo held that the lawmaker, having not resigned, defected or cross-carpeted from APC to PDP within the time stipulated by law, was not a lawful member of PDP and cannot stand for any election on its platform.

Justice Ekwo invoked section 221 of the 1999 Constitution, section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 and Article 50 (4) of the PDP to nullify the primary election of the PDP that produced him.

Defendants in the suit are Hon Sani Umar Dan Galadima, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Peoples Democratic Party PDP and Dr Iyorchia Ayu.

Justice Ekwo held that from the point of law, the lawmaker ought to have relinquished his APC membership 30 days before the primary election of the PDP before he could qualify as a valid candidate for PDP.

Having remained in APC at the time he purchased the Expression of Interest form and nomination form in PDP, filed and submitted the forms, there was no way he could validly be the candidate of the party.

The judge thereafter issued an order prohibiting and restraining the lawmaker from parading himself as the candidate of PDP.

Justice Ekwo issued another order to PDP to conduct a fresh primary election for the purpose of electing a new candidate for the Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency for the 2023 election.