The Taraba State Commissioner for justice and
attorney general of the state, Barr. Yusuf Nya
Akirikwen has debunked insinuations in some
quarters that governor Darius Ishaku diverted the
recent bailout fund released to the state by the
federal government to bribe the appellate court
judges who revised the nullification his electoral
victory by the lower tribunal.
Akirikwen, said the position of law which justice
Aboki relied upon to revised the lower tribunal’s
verdict that earlier sacked Ishaku was very defined.
He stressed that the inability of a political party to
conduct a conclusive primaries was clearly a pre-
election issue which the tribunal has no jurisdiction
on.
According him, the important question about Section
85 of the Electoral Act was whether the INEC, which
the section was made for, was complaining about the
candidature of Ishaku or not Aisha and party.
He added that the constitution clearly spelt out that
until a candidate has been indicted by a court of law,
or is known to have a criminal record, or has certain
degree of health condition, among others, such a
person cannot be determined by a tribunal as not
being qualified as a candidate.
Akirikwen informed that the Supreme Court of
Nigeria in a panel of seven justices recently in the
governorship case of Zamfara State dismissed the
case of Alh. Shinkafi of the PDP who was challenging
the due nomination and sponsorship of Gov. Yari of
the APC, adding that the Supreme Court described
Alh. Shinkafi of the PDP as a mere busy body person
who lacks the legal capacity to challenge the
nomination of Gov. Yari by his party.
“The Supreme Court said party primaries are
domestic or internal affairs of the party and no
strange/non party member can intrude in them,” he
said.
Akirikwen also added that Zamfara State
governorship case and that of Benue State were
similar with that of Taraba State case, stressing the
APC in the state should read the judgement of the
Supreme Court in Shinkafi vs Yari, and Ortom vs
Terhemen Tarzoor respectively.
“The Supreme Court had make several
pronouncement on such cases, so I don’t think the
judgement of Taraba would be different from that of
others states,” he said.