2023 guber election: Bauchi APC hopeful of candidate success at Supreme Court

By Musa Baba Adamu with agency report

Ahead of the Supreme Court judgement on the 2023 Bauchi gubernatorial elections this week, a high-ranking member of the All Progressive Congress, (APC), in the state, Sabo Muhammad, has argued that the party’s candidate, Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar (retd), has a genuine case before the court.
Muhammad, who also doubles as the chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the party in the state, expressed confidence that the APC candidate will emerge victorious despite his setbacks at the tribunal and Court of Appeal.
The apex court will, this week, hear 21 appeals arising from the disputes over the March 18, 2023, governorship elections.
Muhammad said the party at the state level is presently preoccupied with ensuring that the APC candidate reclaims his mandate.
He said: “Our preoccupation now is to ensure that Air Marshal Sadiqiu Abubakar reclaims his mandate. That’s why some of us are rallying round to support the guber candidate in the best interest of the party so that the party can return to power.
“At the moment, we have a genuine case, so we are optimistic that Abubakar will come out victorious at the end. What we are saying is that we have fashioned our appeal in line with the provisions of the extant law of the Electoral Act and the Constitution, and we are very optimistic that the justices of the Supreme Court will do the needful in restoring the mandate of the people that was stolen in the gubernatorial election, taking into cognisance the weighty evidence that has been put forward at the Supreme Court.”
Abubakar and the APC are contesting the recent Court of Appeal decision that upheld Mohammed’s election, alleging Electoral Act violations.
They asked the court to overturn the recent Court of Appeal decision that upheld Mohammed’s election.
During the court hearing on December 21, 2023, senior counsel to APC argued that the appellate court overlooked crucial issues, including purported non-compliance with the Electoral Act during the election process.
However, Chris Uche, who is counsel to Governor Mohammed, urged the Supreme Court to uphold the appellate court’s decision, arguing that it aligns with sections 148 and 135 of the Electoral Act.