The Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal has reinstated Dauda Lawal-Dare as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Zamfara State.
Earlier, a federal court sitting in Gusau, Zamfara State, presided over by Justice Aminu Bappa-Aliyu had nullified the primaries that produced Lawal-Dare as PDP governorship candidate and instead, ruled that the PDP has no gubernatorial candidate in the state.
However in its ruling, the appellate court on Friday set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court.
All the members of the three-man panel of the Appeal Court in the sitting concurred with the lead judgement of Justice Muhammad Shu’aibu, who ordered the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to accept Lawal-Dare as the elected governorship candidate of the PDP in Zamfara State for the 2023 general election.
The panel said it was inconceivable for the Federal High Court Judge’s refusal to accept the INEC report of the primaries claiming that it was not certified despite being a public document and published on the INEC website.
The panel added that the appellant was not properly joined by the plaintiffs.
Reacting to the judgement, Lawal-Dare described the Appeal Court’s ruling in Sokoto as a victory for democracy, the good people of Zamfara State.
