Court of Appeal dismisses Suit Against Taraba PDP Governorship Candidate

three-member panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Justice Tani Yusuf and sitting in Yola yesterday affirmed Col. Agbu Kefas as the validly nominated governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State.

The Appeal Court threw out two suits seeking disqualification of the Taraba State PDP governorship candidate.

Prof. Jerome Nyameh, an aspirant in the primaries, had dragged Kefas to court on the grounds that he was not qualified to participate in the May 25, 2022 governorship primaries.

He was also seeking the disqualification of Agbu on the grounds that the defendant did not purchase the expression of interest and nomination forms and that he was the party’s state chairman before the primary.

According to the Legal Adviser, PDP Taraba State, Musa Simon, who witnessed the judgment, Nyameh’s appeal was dismissed for lack of merit.

He however said there was a dissenting judgment by one of the panel judges.

“The gamut of the judgment is that the appeal lacks merit. The majority judgment by two judges out of the three dismissed the appeal for lack of merit and that the parties should bear their cost.

“However, there was one dissenting judgment among the three judges. Justice Husseini dissented. He said the issue of purchase of forms and the issue of screening are not to be left as a party internal matter but that it run contrary to the provisions of the electoral act and the party guidelines for the primary. That there should be a fresh primary from today excluding Col. Agbu Kefas,” he disclosed.

The Court also dismissed the suit by another aspirant in the PDP governorship primary, Hilkiah Bubajoda Mafindi, seeking the disqualification of Agbu Kefas.

Reacting to the judgment, Taraba State PDP Chairman, Inuwa Bakari, expressed happiness over it.

He said the case was an internal party matter and that the appellant should have explored internal party mechanisms to express his grievances.

According to Bakari, the PDP is united and formidable to contest the governorship election and that anytime soon, the campaigns would begin.