Appeal court nullifies judgment sacking Bwacha as Taraba APC guber candidate

The court of appeal sitting in Yola has set aside the judgement that nullified the nomination of Emmanuel Bwacha as governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba state.

The court, in its ruling on Thursday, affirmed the nomination of Bwacha as Taraba APC governorship candidate.

On November 15, a federal high court in Abuja ordered the APC to conduct fresh primary in Taraba state within 14 days.

Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, nullified the APC primary election which took place on May 26 and produced Bwacha.

Yusuf Yusuf, senator representing Taraba central, who was also a governorship aspirant in the primary, instituted a suit against Bwacha, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ibrahim Bawa, counsel to Yusuf, said the APC did not conduct a primary election in the state.

According to him, the APC announced that it would conduct direct primaries in only three states and Taraba was not part of the three.

“The first defendant confirmed that direct primaries will be conducted in Taraba only after the primaries were conducted,” he said.

He also claimed that even though the appeal panel set up to hear complaints agreed that no primary was held, the defendants were not pleased with the report, and they insisted that the report be reviewed.

“The purported review was not signed by members of the committee. This court is empowered to compare the signatures on documents before it,” the plaintiff’s counsel said.