Aspiring Senator, Bashir Machina, has praised the judgement of the Federal High Court in Damataru which declared him as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Yobe North Senatorial District for the 2023 general elections.
The presiding judge, Justice Fadima Murtala Aminu, nullified the parallel primary election that produced the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, on June 9, 2022.
In a statement, hours after the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise him as the candidate, Machina described the judgement as “a victory for justice“.
Wednesday’s judgement is a significant development in the controversy that has followed the APC primary in Yobe North Senatorial District and is another blow for Lawan, who is hoping to return to the Senate via the ticket.
The Senate President had moved to clinch the party’s ticket for the Senatorial District after failing in his bid to run for President under the APC.
Machina had refused to withdraw from the race in favour of Lawan and had sued the APC and INEC seeking to be recognised as the party’s senatorial candidate for Yobe North, having won the primary.
With the judgement in his favour, the aspiring Senator called on all his supporters, and the people of Yobe North, to remain peaceful, and not to react in the face of any provocation.
In a statement by his media aide, Husaini Isa, Machina also called for reconciliation among the two groups that exist within the party in Yobe North.
He was quoted as saying, “I welcome the decision of the Judge of the Federal High Court, Damaturu, it is a victory that stands for justice. It is now time to set aside our differences and close ranks for the impending battle, the next war we must wage is the war for APC’s victory in the coming 2023 general elections.
“I am particularly happy that the administration of Governor Mai Mala Buni places much emphasis on reconciliation as a virile tool for peaceful co-existence, we must therefore embrace it and move forward.”
Machina also thanked all his supporters for their fervent prayers and unflinching support saying, he will work hard if eventually elected as Senator to touch the lives of his constituents in a very positive way.
