The Supreme Court on Friday nullified the election of two senators and eight members of the House of Representatives elected under the umbrella of the Congress for Progressive Change in Katsina State.The affected lawmakers are Senators Abdu Umar Yandoma and Ahmad Sani Stores, representing Katsina North and Katsina Central senatorial districts respectively.Others are Murtala Isa, Muntari Dandutse, Musa Salisu, Aminu Ashiru, Umar Adamu Katsayal, Muhammad Tukur, Tasiu Doguro, and Abdu Dankama, who are members of the House of Representatives.In its judgement, a seven-man panel of Supreme Court justices maintained that going by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 and the 1999 Constitution as amended, the Independent National Electoral Commission should not have recognised the ousted lawmakers as authentic candidates of the CPC for the April 2011 general elections in Katsina State as they were not validly nominated.The panel, presided over by Justice Tanko Mahmoud, upheld the verdict of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which had on April 20, 2011, declared the primaries that produced the sacked lawmakers as illegal, null and void.Consequently, the court ordered the National Assembly leadership to immediately inaugurate the 10 members of the CPC in Katsina State, who it declared as the true candidates of the party, having won the primaries.The 10 CPC members that benefited from the apex courts judgement, and who are to be sworn in to take over the seats of the ousted legislators are Sadiq YarAdua (Katsina Central Senatorial District), Hadi Sirika (Katsina North), Ahmed Kaita (Kankia/Kusada/Ingawa Federal constituency), Salisu Salisco (Kaita/Jibiya constituency), Shiek Umar Abubakar (Katsina federal constituency), Salisu Ado Daura (Daura/ Maiaduwa/Sandamu constituency), Isa Lawa Doro (Mani/Bindawa constituency), Sani Bello Mashi (Mashi/Dutsi constituency), Abbas Machika (Kankara/Faskari/Sabuwa constituency) and Dr. Mansur Funtua (Funtua/Dandume constituency).Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 requires every registered political party in the country to give a 21-day notice to INEC on its intention to conduct primaries.The CPC wrote a letter to INEC on December 24, 2010, giving the commission notice of its intention to hold primaries for the April 2011 National Assembly, state assembly and governorship elections in Katsina State, stressing that the said polls would be concluded on January 13, 2011 and names of the successful candidates submitted a day after.The CPC also notified INEC of the constitution of a committee under one Col. Jibril Hassan (retd.), saddled with the responsibility of organising the primaries.The election took place as slated and names of the winners were subsequently ratified by the National Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the party and forwarded to INEC through the CPC national congress committee led by Dr. Lanre Tejuosho.
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