Court to hear Ishaku’s appeal tomorrow
The Court of Appeal will tomorrow hear the appeal
filed by Governor Darius Ishaku of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) asking the appellate court to
set aside the Taraba Tribunal ruling which sacked
him and handed the governorship to the All
Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aisha
Alhassan.
The tribunal sacked Ishaku on the ground that the
PDP did not hold a proper primary that threw him
up as the candidate.
The Court of Appeal in Yola, Adamawa State, usually
entertains appeals from Taraba. But like the tribunal
which sat throughout in Abuja on security concerns,
the Court of Appeal is treating Ishaku’s appeal in
Abuja.
In Jalingo –Taraba’s capital, there was a calm anxiety
over the case yesterday. No discussions were
without a mention of the case.
The legal counsel to Ishaku and Alhassan will
tomorrow adopt their written addresses or briefs of
arguments, from where the court will fix a date for
ruling.
The Court of Appeal has received four notices of
appeal; three filed by the governor’s legal team,
headed by Joseph Dauda, and a cross-appeal filed by
Alhassan’s counsel Mahmud Magaji, (SAN).
The tribunal headed by Justice Musa Danladi
Abubakar on November 7, proclaimed Alhassan,
now Minister for Women Affairs, who scored the
second highest votes, as the rightful winner of the
election.
The tribunal upheld Alhassan’s argument that Ishaku
was not qualified to contest the April 11, 2015
governorship election because the primary held by
his party fell short of the conditions stipulated by
Sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act (2A) 2010.
It faulted the shifting of the party’s primary to Abuja
and ruled that the governor was not validly
nominated and sponsored by his party.
But Ishaku cried foul, that the tribunal left the crux
of the litigation and delved into a pre-election matter
that was not within its purview.
He challenged that the ruling APC was using the
federal might and manipulating the judiciary to
atrociously execute a coup to take over Taraba State
through the back door.
Governor Ishaku told The Nation that he saw
“contradictions and great conflict of irony” in the
ruling when the tribunal challenged the validity of
holding the PDP primary in Abuja but also sat in the
same Abuja to pass judgment.
“A sad aspect of the tribunal ruling, which is like an
accidental discharge, is that the APC supporters
rejoiced the victory a day before judgment was
passed the following day, and it went viral on the
social media several hours before the ruling was
concluded.”

Source: the nation

For More Updates
Facebook: Rhapsodi Affos Blog
Twitter: @Rhapsodi_Affos, @Affos_Blog