Appeal court restores Binani as APC governorship candidate in Adamawa

An appeal court in Yola has restored Aishatu Binani as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa state.

In October, a federal high court in Yola, the state capital, nullified the APC primary that produced Binani as the party’s governorship candidate for Adamawa.

The court had declared that there would be no candidate for the APC in the state for the 2023 elections.

Binani, the senator representing Adamawa central, defeated Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Jibrilla Bindow, former governor of the state, to win the primary held on May 26.

Binani polled 430 votes to beat Bindow who had 103 votes and Ribadu, who secured 288 votes.

Aggrieved by the outcome of the election, Ribadu instituted a suit challenging Binani’s victory.

In the judgment, Abdulaziz Anka, the presiding judge, nullified the entire primary election.

He ruled that the process was not compliant with the 2022 Electoral Act, the Nigerian constitution, and the party guidelines.

The judge said Binani’s victory was in clear contravention of Section 85 of the Electoral Act because there was “manifest overvoting”.