Mohammed Abacha, son of the late president Sani Abacha, has been removed as the governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano by a court of appeal.
The PDP staged parallel governorship primaries in the state, with one producing Abacha and the other producing Sadiq Wali.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognized Wali as a contender for governor and included him on the commission’s final list of candidates.
However, Abacha filed a lawsuit against INEC as the first defendant, Wali as the second defendant, the PDP as the third defendant, and Wada Sagagi, chairman of the Kano APC.
In December 2022, a federal high court in Kano confirmed Abacha as the genuine governorship candidate in response to the lawsuit.
Abdullahi Liman, the presiding judge, voided the primary that produced Wali and ruled that the primary that produced Abacha was the legitimate one. The judge then directed INEC to recognize Abacha as the PDP candidate for governor of Kano state.
But on Friday, the appellate court reversed the high court’s decision and ordered Wali to be recognized as the lawful candidate for governor.
The three-member tribunal led by Usman Musale and consisting of Abacha, Wali, and Usman Musale ruled unanimously that Abacha had no standing to contest the primary election that produced Wali because he had never participated in it.
