20th June, 2022
By Olukayode Babalola
Barrister Labaran Magaji has vowed to challenge the outcome of the APC Nasarawa senatorial primary election through legal and due processes to reclaim his mandate.
He announced this on Sunday at a reception organised for him in the Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Magaji lost the party’s ticket to his co-contestant, Shehu Tukur, who polled 179 votes as against his 114 votes at the recently concluded Nasarawa West Senatorial District primary election.
According to him, the process of seeking redress has already commenced through a petition to the APC Primary election Appeals Committee for Nasarawa West Senatorial District.
He explained that his decision was taken following allegations that emerged after the election that some discrepancies occurred to favour the winner.
“Ideally, he was the candidate of the party, and we congratulated him for emerging winner of that very particular exercise.
“But soon after the election, facts emerged that touched on the credibility of the process, which my team and I reviewed and discovered there was a very fundamental controversy surrounding the process.
“One, the delegates from Keffi and Nasarawa local government areas were not the delegates that voted during the congresses for the purposes of the election.
“We also came in contact with an intercept of communication which has raised a lot of issues with respect to the facts which have emerged and has brought down the integrity of the entire process which necessitated our action.
“So we filed an appeal to the body statutorily set up by the National Working Committee of our party to so do, which is equally in line with the spirit of the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution,” he said.
“After filing the petition, the party’s appeal panel looked into it and found merit in the petition, thereby recommending further investigation, among other recommendations.
In spite of the conclusion of the party processes, the aspirant added that a case on the matter was also at a Federal High Court.
Therefore, he vowed to continue to fight for the interests of his people whenever the need arose.
Magaji appreciated the people for organising a warm reception for him, in spite of losing the election, saying he was humbled by the love shown by the people.
“This reception organised for me is one in a million. I was really humbled and moved to tears. I also appreciate God for using me to salvage the people.
NAN