The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, (SAN) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to postpone elections in Zamfara state so as to allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to field candidates for the coming elections.
Malami, who doubles as the Minister of Justice, said he was acting based on a petition from a law firm claiming that recent court judgments have annulled the stand of INEC that the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not conduct primaries in the state and can therefore not field candidates in the governorship and national assembly elections.
Malami, in a letter to INEC yesterday said that INEC could not foreclose the right of a political party to participate in elections without recourse to the Act.
Malami, in the letter invited INEC to comply with the judgment of the Court of Appeal by admitting the results of the APC Zamfara primaries. The AGF maintained that by the doctrine and principle of judicial precedence, the appeal superseded the Federal High Court’s position which foreclosed APC Zamfara from fielding candidates in the February and March general elections.
He said since the courts have admitted that primaries were held, INEC will now have to postpone the elections to allow APC catch up with other parties in preparing for the polls. The national assembly elections will be held on February 16 while the governorship and state assembly two weeks later.
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