During the valedictory session of the 9th Senate, Rochas Okorocha, the outgoing Senator from Imo State, playfully mocked the outgoing Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, regarding his return to the Senate without participating in the All Progressives Congress primary elections, News About Nigeria reports.
Okorocha, who previously represented the Imo West Federal Constituency, engaged in light-hearted banter with Lawan, saying, “I did not contest for the Senate this period.
“I only contested for the office of the president. You are a very smart politician. How you came back to the Senate is another chapter in our political history that we need to discuss.
“I was there in the field with you running for President, I never knew how you were able to meander, leaving some of us. Next time you must teach me how to do that.”
In February, the Supreme Court affirmed Lawan as the APC senatorial candidate for Yobe North. The APC Yobe North Senatorial ticket had been a subject of controversy between duly elected Bashir Machina and Lawan.
During the primary election organized by the party in May 2022, Machina emerged as the victor as the Senate President, who was pursuing his presidential ambition at that time, did not participate in the primary election.
However, the ruling APC, instead of submitting the name of the elected candidate, Machina, submitted the name of the Senate President to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Consequently, their names were deliberately omitted from the published list of candidates in late June 2022.
In an attempt to resolve the brewing controversy surrounding the seat, INEC, on at least two occasions, stated that it rejected the Senate President’s name because he had not been validly nominated for the senatorial seat. INEC urged the two individuals involved to resolve the issue internally or seek redress in court.
Following Lawan’s loss at the Court of Appeal in November 2022, he filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, which eventually affirmed him as the party’s candidate.
In response to Okorocha’s playful mockery, Lawan stated that his constituents and party stakeholders had appealed on his behalf up to the Supreme Court.
He further commented, “I didn’t even personally appeal the judgment that denied me the opportunity to contest. The party and the stakeholders appealed on my behalf, all the way to the Supreme Court. Therefore, there is nothing extraordinary or noteworthy about it. In fact, there is nothing for you to learn from it.”
