The ambition of Senate President Ahmad Lawan to return to the Red Chamber in 2023 has been put on hold as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared on Tuesday that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has no candidate for the Yobe North senatorial district.
However, the INEC published the names of the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Goodwill Akpabio and the Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, for Akwa Ibom Northwest senatorial district and the Ebonyi South senatorial seats respectively.
Meanwhile, the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, retained Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.
The trio of Lawan, Umahi and Akpabio had chosen to pick Senate tickets for Yobe North, Ebonyi South and Akwa Ibom Northwest senatorial districts respectively, after losing out at the APC presidential primary.
The move sparked controversy since most Senate primaries were conducted before the presidential primary. Also, in its earlier publication, INEC refused to publish the name of any candidate for the party in the affected senatorial districts.
For Lawan, he has been battling his party man, Bashir Machina, over who would represent the senatorial district in the next election. In the final list published by INEC, no name was listed for the APC as a candidate to contest the Yobe North senatorial district.
Also, despite his purported expulsion from his party, Dumebi Kachikwu, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made INEC’s final list.
Kachikwu and seven others were expelled by the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Ralphs Okey Nwosu, over alleged anti-party activities.
But a statement by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, following the release of the final list, said the Commission decided to recognise both Umahi and Akpabio as candidates for their respective senatorial districts based on court orders.
For Akpabio, the Commission based its decision on the ruling of a Federal High Court, Abuja, last week, which ordered it to accept and publish Akpabio’s name as the APC candidate for Akwa Ibom Northwest senatorial district.
