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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, may have lost his bid to return to the National Assembly as a Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu, the Yobe State Capital, has declared Bashir Machina as the authentic All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Yobe North in the 2023 general elections.
The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish Machina’s name accordingly.
Justice Fadima Aminu gave the order on Wednesday while ruling on a suit brought by Machina.
The Judge affirmed that Machina was duly and validly elected Yobe North senatorial candidate for APC during the May 28 primary election of the party.
There has been controversy over the APC senatorial ticket for Yobe North.
Machina, at a primary election organised by the party in May, had won unopposed.
Lawan was said to have participated in another primary election organised by the APC, after he contested the party’s presidential ticket and lost in June.
Machina was reportedly asked to step down for Lawan but, he insisted that he would not withdraw for the senate president.
Amid the controversy, the APC had submitted the senate president’s name to INEC as its senatorial candidate for Yobe North.
However, when INEC published the final name of aspirants last week, the name of APC’s candidate for Yobe North was omitted.