The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Taraba State, Sani Danladi, has been disqualified over alleged age falsification.
The disqualification was by a Federal High Court in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Wednesday.
The governorship candidate was said to have falsified his age in the document he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The suit was filed by some people described as concerned citizens.
Meanwhile, the party has reacted to the development, saying the verdict of the court would not stand.
According to a statement issued by its spokesman in Taraba State, Aaron Artimas, the case had been taken to court in the past and dismissed by an Appeal Court.
The statement reads in part: “The so-called concerned citizens claimed that there were discrepancies in the declaration of age as contained in Sani Danladi’s SSCE and his statutory declaration of age in the year 2000.
“However, we wish our teeming supporters to note that this issue had been taken to court in the year 2007 and was subsequently dismissed by the Appeal Court. It should also be noted that all judgments passed by the Appeal Court supersede those of the lower courts in the whole country.
“There is also legal process involved in the substitution of candidates by INEC and therefore a court judgment does not automatically translate to disqualification to contest an election.”
The party called on its supporters and members in the state to discountenance the news that Danladi was not eligible to contest the governorship election.
It said legal steps had already commenced process of setting aside “this mischievous judgment which we view as another desperate attempt by agents of the PDP and the state government to escape defeat on Saturday.”
“All APC members are hereby called upon to continue with their campaigns and preparations towards the elections. All our agents are also hereby directed to ensure that they dutifully accompany all sensitive materials and to ensure their distributions to all designated voting areas,” the spokesman said.
