By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Friday, sacked Abubakar Suleiman, the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, from his seat as the member representing Ningi Central Constituency of Bauchi State.
Suleiman, the immediate past Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, was declared winner of the Ningi Central Constituency election held on March 18th, having scored with 16, 866 votes to defeat his closest rival, Khalid Abdulmalik-Ningi of the All Progressives Congress, who scored 15, 065 votes.
Not satisfied with INEC’s declaration of the results of the election, Abdulmalik-Ningi, approached the Governorship and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in the State to seek redress. But the Tribunal dismissed his case and affirmed the victory of Suleiman for a second term in office.
Also not satisfied with the judgment, the APC candidate went to the Court of Appeal to challenge the Tribunal’s ruling. And in its judgment on Friday, the Appellate Court’s three-man panel, set aside the judgment of the Tribunal and ordered for a rerun.
Meanwhile, the Speaker, in a statement by Abdul Burra, his Spokesperson, described the judgment as a minor political setback which is not new to politics, adding that although the judgment is unfavourable, he however called on his supporters to remain calm.
He said: “Following the Court of Appeal ruling in Abuja today that set aside the judgment of the Election Petition Tribunal that affirmed the election of Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y. Suleiman, as member representing Ningi Central and ordered rerun in ten polling units, the Speaker urges his supporters and all people of the Constituency to remain calm.
“He said that although the judgment is unfavourable, as a Muslim he believes in all fates, thus he accepts the judgment in good faith.
“While describing the judgment as a minor political setback which is not new in his political career, the Speaker said that he is ever ready for the rerun election to add to the almost two thousand votes margin he gave his opponent.
“Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y Suleiman states that the support and solidarity he has been enjoying in Ningi remain intact and no amount of effort to pull him down will succeed, adds that conducting a rerun in ten polling units that are his stronghold is just like a walkover, wondering why his opponents insisted on extending their pain of election defeat.
“He said that with the unprecedented infrastructural development initiated by Governor Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad in Ningi Local Government Area, PDP remains unbeatable in Ningi.”
The Speaker further said that he will not relent in his efforts towards bringing dividends of democracy to the people of Ningi Central Constituency “no matter how some elements keep trying to pull him down.”
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