The supporters of Senate President Ahmad Lawan attacked the state governor Mai Mala Buni with rocks and other items at a political rally held by the All Progressives Congress in Yobe State, Northeastern Nigeria.
The event was organised to honour the verdict of the Supreme Court, declaring Lawan as the valid senatorial candidate of the ruling APC for Yobe North in the National Assembly election, Sunday Punch reports. The event was also used as the APC’s zonal campaign rally for the Yobe North district.
According to the report, when Governor Buni stood up to deliver his speech, the angry supporters of Lawan chanted ‘Bwamayi bwamayi bwamaso,” meaning “We don’t want you”.
It was learnt that the governor was booed because he supported Lawan’s opponent, Bashir Machina, who was the APC candidate until the Supreme Court ruling during his legal tussle with the Senate President.
They threw objects at the governor and other guests on the podium, bringing the rally to an abrupt end.
The governor was subsequently whisked away by security operatives.
Last Monday, the apex court affirmed Lawan as the APC senatorial candidate for Yobe North, a judgement many Nigerians have condemned.
In a majority judgment, the apex court allowed the appeal filed by the APC against Machina’s candidature.
There had been controversy over the APC Yobe North Senatorial ticket.
Machina, at a primary election organised by the party in May 2022 won unopposed. The senate president did not participate in the primary election.
At the time the exercise was held, Lawan was pursuing his presidential ambition but lost to former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu.
Rather than submit the name of the elected candidate, the name of the senate president was submitted to the commission by the ruling APC, a move that led to the deliberate omission of their names from the published particulars of candidates in late June 2022.
To clarify the brewing controversy around the seat, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on at least two different occasions, said it rejected the senate president’s name because he had not been validly nominated for the senatorial seat.
Reacting to the judgement, Nura Audu, a Deputy Campaign Coordinator and Yobe North Zonal Social Media for Bashir Machina campaign team, described it as unfair and injustice.