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SENATORIAL PRIMARIES: El-Rufai’s anointed heads to court to stop Sen Sani, Oshiomhole

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SENATORIAL PRIMARIES: El-Rufai’s anointed heads to court to stop Sen Sani, Oshiomhole

The battle to ensure Senator Shehu Sani does not return to the Senate has intensified despite the All Progressives Congress (APC) clearing him as the sole candidate for Kaduna Central.

This was as a Kaduna High Court has restrained the APC from conducting the senatorial primary for Kaduna Central.

The court action came sequel to an ex-parte motion filed before Justice M. I. Bello of a Kaduna High Court of Justice by Uba Sani.

Uba Sani is Governor El-Rufai’s special adviser on politics, and his anointed aspirant for Kaduna Central senatorial ticket of the APC.

Uba Sani, along with Ibrahim Usman (Sardauna Badarawa); Shamsu Shehu Giwa; and Gen. Mohammed Sani Saleh, who were all aspirants for Kaduna Central senatorial ticket were disqualified by the APC.

Their disqualification left Senator Shehu Sani as the sole candidate of the party from the zone.

Following the action of the party, Uba Sani had filed an ex-parte motion praying the court to restrain the APC, its National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Shehu Sani from taking further steps to elect a candidate for Kaduna Central.

The court order was served on APC National Secretariat and made available to reporters in Abuja on Wednesday.

El-Rufai’s adviser, had among other things, asked the court for an “order of interim injunction to restrain the defendants, their agents, privies, or anyone else by whatever name called from taking further steps towards conducting primary elections to elect candidate of the APC for Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone(Zone 2) of Kaduna State pending the hearing and the determination of the Motion on Notice.

“Alternatively, an order directing the parties herein to maintain the status quo prior October 2, 2018 materially to the conduct of primary elections to elect candidate of the 1st Defendant(APC) for the Kaduna Central Senatorial District(Zone 2) of Kaduna State pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice already filed”.

The motion was filed pursuant to Order 15(1) and Order 36 of the High Court Civil Procedure Rules of Kaduna State, the court granted leave to issue and serve the writ of summons on the defendants.

Uba Sani’s lawyer, Sule Shuaibu Esq., explained that his client headed for court to protect his democratic rights after exhausting the internal party grievance-redress processes.

“Upon becoming aware of his unlawful exclusion, Uba Sani wrote and submitted a letter of complaint to the national chairman, urging him to reverse the decision.

“He followed up with a letter to the Appeal Committee, where he claimed that having fulfilled all the conditions for contesting the primary election, his unlawful exclusion should be set aside and he be allowed to contest the primary election.

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“Given the imminence of the INEC deadline for the conclusion of primaries, Uba Sani cannot sit on his right and allow the effluxion of time to extinguish his cause of action,” he said.

In its ruling on the ex-parte motion, the court ordered the APC, its chairman Adams Oshiomhole, INEC and Shehu Sani to maintain the status-quo prior to October 2, 2018, when the APC unlawfully excluded Uba Sani and other aspirants from the contest.

“Leave is hereby granted to the plaintiff/applicant to issue and serve the Writ of Summons in this suit out of Kaduna State and on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants in FCT.

“Parties are hereby ordered to maintain the status quo prior to October 2 2018 materially to the conduct of primary elections to elect candidate of the 1st Defendant (APC) for the Kaduna Central Senatorial District (Zone 2) of Kaduna State pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice already filed”, the judge held in his ruling.

The matter was adjourned to October 15.

Governor El-Rufai had continusly vowed to ensure that Senator Sani never gets APC senatorial ticket for 2919 general elections.

There are speculations that his visit to Buhari on Wednesday may not be unconnected to the action of the party which cleared Shehu, Sani, his ‘sworn enemy’ as the sole senatorial candidate for Kaduna Central.

By Ebere Ndukwu. . .

 

 

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