•Report by Kamil Opeyemi
The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the incumbent Deputy Governor of Jigawa, Umar Namadi as the lawful candidate for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The Apex Court in a unanimous judgment prepared by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun upheld the primary election conducted on May 26, 2022 which produced Namadi as the winner.
In the judgment Delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa on behalf of the Court,the appeal filed by Farouk Aliyu, a former Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives was dismissed in its entirety.
The apex court agreed with lawyers to the respondents,Lateef Fagbemi and Yakubu Ruba both Senior Advocates that the case was frivolous, baseless and lacked merit and substance.
Namadi through his counsel, Fagbemi had won the legal battle at the Federal High Court in Dutse as well as at the Court of Appeal in Kano.
Farouk Aliyu, former member of the House of Representatives, challenged the APC primary election held on May 26, 2022 which produced Namadi as the party’s governorship flagbearer for the March 11 poll.