Niger East: Umaru is our sole candidate, APC tells Appeal Court

The victory of Alhaji Mohammed Sanni Musa at the just concluded senatorial election for Niger East may be short lived as the All Progressive Congress (APC) under which platform he won the election on Feb. 23th has moved to the Appeal Court Abuja.

Consequently the court  has fixed March 6, 2019 for hearing on the appeal filed by the APC and Senator David Umaru seeking for the setting aside of the decision of a Federal High Court which declared Sani Musa 313 as the party’s candidate in the February 23, 2019 senatorial election for Niger East Senatorial District.

The party in the Appeal N0. CA/A/…../ 2019 SUIT N0 FHC/ABJ/CS/1210/2018 filed by its counsel, S. I Ameh SAN & Co complained against the whole decision of the federal high court on 10 grounds and sought for five reliefs.

According to notice of appeal papers made available to press, Mohammed Sani Musa, INEC and David Umaru are listed as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively in the case where APC disowned Sani Musa as its candidate in the senatorial election.

In the same vain, Senator David Umaru in his appeal also complained against the whole judgement of the federal high court Abuja on 18 grounds of appeal seeking for an order of the Appeal Court to set aside the judgement/ order of the trial court made on the 7th of February 2019.

Umaru represented by Chris Osuagu as counsel said, “the trial court erred in law when it assumed jurisdiction over the subject matter of the suit and granted all the reliefs sought by the 3rd respondent despite the appellant’s objection to the court’s jurisdiction”

He argued that the trial judge erred in law when he failed to evaluate documents that were placed before the court thereby shutting his eyes to them, adding that the finding of the trial court is perverse.

Also APC complained that the trial judge erred in law when it held that the 1st respondent’s suit was not statute – barred and went ahead to exercise jurisdiction to entertain and or determine the suit.

The party also argued that the trial judge erred in law in not recognizing its primary elections of 5/10/2018 in which David Umaru was the sole candidate and subsequently declared winner

According to APC, “the learned trial judge erred in law by nullifying the appellant’s choice of the 3rd respondent as its candidate for the seat of Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District in the forthcoming 2019 general election and holding that there were no valid primaries held on the 5th day of October 2018”.