INEC Withdraws Certificates Of Return Of 2 APC Lawmakers

Two members-elect of Kaduna State House of Assembly have both lost their Certificates of Return after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday withdrew the certificates earlier issued to them.

The affected persons who both belong to the All Progressive Congress (APC) are identified as Haruna Aliyu popularly known as Chakis who represented Kaduna North II (Kawo) and the other is Ibrahim Ismail was the legislator for Kaduna South II (Tudun Wada) constituency.

According to reports, the names of Haruna Aliyu and Ibrahim Ismail who had scored 24 and 35 votes, respectively were sent to INEC as the party’s candidates, instead of the names of Yusuf Salihu and Nasiru Usman who both scored 104 and 49 votes respectively at the party’s primaries held on October 7, 2018.

While delivering his judgement, Justice Z. B Abubakar, of the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna said Nasiru Usman having scored the highest number of votes cast at the primaries conducted on the said date for elective position of member State House of Assembly representing Tudun Wada Constituency otherwise known as Kaduna South II, Kaduna State is the nominated candidate for the general elections.

According to the presiding judge, the purported substitution of the name of Hon. Yusuf Salihu for the Kaduna State House of Assembly election Kaduna North II Constituency is in violation of the provision of section 33 of the Electoral Act. 2010 as amended.

Following the court ruling, INEC subsequently withdrew the certificates of return hours after the court ruling from Haruna Aliyu and Ibrahim Ismail and issued same to Yusuf Salihu and Nasiru Usman as the winners of the 2019 Kaduna State House of Assembly election.