BY OBUTE JAMES
The Senator representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, Kabiru Marafa has described the Supreme Court judgement on Zamfara State where the ruling All Progressive Congress lost governorship seat, state house of assembly seats as well as National Assembly seats to the opposition party as a bitter- sweet experience.
The Supreme Court, on Friday, May 24, declared all the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidates as winners in the last governorship, National and State Assembly polls, ruling that APC did not hold valid party primaries as required by law.
In his reaction, to court judgment Marafa said, “No matter how long, the truth will always prevail over falsehood.
“Today’s judgement is a victory for democracy, triumph of truth over falsehood and redeemer of the integrity of the judiciary.”
“With this, lesson has been served that only strict adherence to rule of law and due process will take the country to the next level as being advocated by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“This Judgment has shown that the president is religiously sincere with his non-interference stance on the function of other arms of government.”
Marafa, a governorship aspirant and the outgoing governor of the state, Abdulaziz Yari, prior to the party’s primaries, had locked horns over control of the state’s chapter of APC.
The five-member panel of justices, in a unanimous judgment held that the party in the state failed to conduct primaries in accordance with the party rules.
In the lead judgment by Justice Paul Adamu Galinji, the apex court held that all votes cast for the APC as “wasted votes” and declared that all political parties with the second highest votes in the elections and the required spread, are elected to the various elections.
The panel also awarded cost of N10m against APC in favour of the Kabiru Marafa faction of the APC and other respondents in the appeal.