Supreme Court Confirms Rufai Hanga As Senator-elect
Rufai Hanga of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, has been confirmed by the Supreme Court as the senator-elect for the Kano Central Senatorial District.
The top court also disqualified Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano state, from running for national assembly on February 25.
In ruling on an appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the court upheld the rulings of the Federal high court and the Court of Appeal, both in Abuja, which had previously supported Rufai Hanga’s candidacy as the party’s candidate.
The Supreme Court ruled that the INEC’s appeal was dismissed because it lacked merit and substance in the judgment written by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji but delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim.
The Federal high court and the court of appeal had in their previous judgment upheld Rufai Hanga as the Senatorial Candidate of the NNPP for Kano Central following the withdrawal of Ibrahim Shekarau as a member of the party and Senatorial Candidate due to irreconcilable differences he allegedly had with the party.
INEC unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the decision at the Appellate Court by refusing to abide by the federal high court’s ruling.
The Commission, not satisfied with the Judgments of the Trial and Appellate Courts, proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgements which upheld Rufai Hanga as the lawful candidate of the NNPP Kano Central Senatorial District.
