Mohammad Abacha, the son of former military ruler General Sani Abacha, has taken the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over the Peoples Democratic Party’s last gubernatorial primary (PDP).
Sadiq Aminu Wali, son of former Foreign Affairs Minister Aminu Wali, PDP, and Kano State PDP Chairman Shehu Sagagi, has also joined the suit.
Abacha asked the court to declare him the PDP’s governorship candidate in Kano, having won the party’s primary election on May 25, 2022.
The plaintiff also requested a mandatory injunction compelling INEC to recognise him as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate for the 2023 election and publish his name as such.
He also requested that the court issue an injunction to prevent Sadiq Wali from running as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate in Kano.
The long-running controversy in Kano erupted a few days ago when INEC released the list of the political party’s candidates for next year’s general election.
Sadiq Wali’s name appeared as a PDP gubernatorial candidate in Kano on the list posted on the INEC website, causing consternation within the party.
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Abacha, who claimed that INEC had previously issued an original copy of the list of candidates who won the party primary in which his name appeared, questioned the sudden omission of his name from the list.
He was declared the winner of the PDP gubernatorial primary held in Kano in May 2022 by the party’s Shehu Sagagi-led Chairman. With legal votes, Abacha defeated his only opponent, Jafar Sani Bello.
However, the Wali-led faction of the PDP held a parallel gubernatorial primary in which Sadiq Wali emerged victorious over eight other candidates.
In the midst of the controversy, INEC told journalists that the commission only monitored the primary conducted by the Sagagi-led PDP chairman, which produced Mohammad Abacha as a gubernatorial candidate.
The date for the originating summons hearing has not been set.
