A constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), has said that the recent Supreme Court judgement that affirmed Senate President Ahmed Lawan as the All Progressives Congress senatorial candidate for Yobe North surprised him.
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Ozekhome stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
He said, “That judgement with much respect came to me as a surprise. As a constitutional lawyer, what I am trying to do is to discuss issues dispassionately because if you discuss issues based on your likeness for one individual or a political party, by the time those individuals or political parties are no longer there you may find yourself beclouded by that genie you let out of the bottle.
“Electoral act is clear. Look at sections 83 and 84. If a candidate dies for example, the political party can bring forward another candidate for the them to hold fresh primary elections. The same way a candidate may decide to resign. All that a political party can do is to hold another primary.
“Coming to this case between Machina and Lawan, Lawan contested for presidency in the primaries of the APC. He did not win.
If Machina had withdrawn voluntarily under Section 33 of the electoral act, then a fresh primary will be held within 14 days. But the facts that are in public domain is that barely a day after the presidential primary of the APC in Abuja, Machina who had already won was said not to be the candidate of the party, but it was now the senate president, Ahmad Lawan.
“The question is that when did APC give notice to INEC that they would be going to another primary? Did Machina himself who was already elected say he had withdrawn? You cannot have two Obas in one palace.”
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