…as Gov. Amosu, Ribadu, Abe, Aisha Buhari’s brother lose in APC
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sent the name of the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a senatorial candidate.
The name of Saraki was among the list of candidates submitted to the commission in Abuja on Thursday night.
Saraki, who represents Kwara Central District in the Senate, was among the 13 presidential aspirants of the party.
He came third at the party’s national convention which was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Meanwhile, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, Senator Magnus Abe and President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife’s brother are among the big losers as the All Progressives Congress (APC) Appeals Panel submitted its report yesterday.
Also, Niger Delta Affairs Minister Usani Uguru Usani failed to upturn the outcome of the Cross River State governorship primary.
Mrs Buhari’s brother Mahmoud Halilu (aka Modi) and President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Bala Bobboi Kaigama also lost the opportunity to have their candidates returned as party standard bearers.
There was tension at the national headquarters of APC as aspirants for the Senate and House of Representatives sought information on who- is-who on the list being taken to the INEC.
The party’s Director of Organisation, Alhaji Abubakar Kari, at about 2pm, led some officials in a branded APC bus to submit the list of candidates to INEC.
The two petitions against the governorship primaries in Rivers by Senator Abe and Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs were not upheld. The petition from Delta State by Prof. Pat Utomi was dismissed and tagged “overtaken by event”.
From Borno, there were four petitions against the conduct of the governorship primary. The committee recommended that a consensus option be explored to be driven by the National Chairman in consultation with the President.
It was also gathered that majority of the petitions against the conduct of the Senate and House of Representatives primaries were not upheld for various reasons, ranging from lack of merit and lack of proof to lack of time for fresh primaries. No reasons were adduced for not upholding some others.
Similarly, some petitions were upheld and some of the petitioners declared as candidates of the party either because they actually won the primaries and were substituted or for other reasons ranging from lack of clearance and others that were not adduced by the committee.
A summary of the report indicated that all petitions on the Senate and House of Representatives primaries were rejected by the panel.
Also rejected were those from Bayelsa, Rivers and Cross River states.
In Delta State, eight petitions were upheld because the petitioners won the primaries, but their names substituted. Seven were rejected. The three petitions against the conduct of the governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State was rejected alongside eight House of Representatives seat. Five were upheld.
From Kaduna State, six petitions were treated on the senatorial primaries. Five of them were rejected. The one by Shehu Sani was upheld.
Two petitions each were received against the governorship primaries in Sokoto and Jigawa states. They were rejected. Three House of Representatives and three senatorial petitions were rejected from the two states.
Petitions from Kebbi and Katsina states were also rejected. The two against the conduct of the governorship primary were referred to the National Working Committee.
The petitions from Kano were either upheld or referred to the party’s national secretariat.
From Taraba State, The Nation gathered that 10 petitions were received against the conduct of the governorship primary, four against the Senate primary and nine against the House of Representatives primaries, with all petitions rejected, a similar situation with Adamawa and Bauchi states, with only one senatorial and one House of Representatives seat in Bauchi upheld.
The situation is not different from the southwest zone, with six petitions treated from Ekiti against the conduct of the National Assembly primaries and rejected. Three House of Representatives petitions from Osun were also rejected.
From Ondo State, the panel upheld three petitions for Senate, referred one to the NWC, rejected two and upheld the five petitions for House of Representatives, saying that they won the primary and were substituted.
Of the two petitions received from Lagos, one was rejected for the Senate.
The one for the House of Representatives was upheld.
The panel also rejected two Senatorial petitions from Ogun and recommended that the third petitioner be adopted as the candidate saying stakeholder of the party in the areas agreed to adopt him as a sole candidate.
