The Plateau state chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed that current senator representing Plateau Central at the national assembly, Joshua Dariye has purchased expression of interest form and nomination forms for the senate.
In a report by Daily Trust, it said that the party also said that Dariye, a former Plateau state governor is set to submit his senatorial nomination form at either national secretariat of the party or at the state’s party secretariat.
The party made the confirmation through its Secretary, Alhaji Bashir Musan Sati in an interview with Daily Trust at his residence in Jos on Wednesday.
It recalled that, Dariye has been sentenced to 16 years imprisonment by Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Federal High Court Abuja after he was found guilty of diverting N1.16 billion Plateau state’s ecological fund when he was the governor from 1999 to 2007.
Dariye in 2015 was elected senator to represent Plateau Central under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but defected to the ruling APC in 2017.
Alhaji Sati explained that Dariye has already bought expression of interest form and nomination form for the senate and is submitting the forms tomorrow (Thursday) being the deadline for submission of nominations form given by the APC.
He said, “Dariye’s case is not new for a politician to contest while in prison, therefore, former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Otunba Iyiola Omisore won a senatorial election in 2003 while in prison.”
“Omisore was in prison, but contested and won senatorial election. I don’t see Dariye’s case as an exceptional one. He has purchased the form and will submit it on Thursday,” he said.
This development came after the Acting National Secretary of APC; Yekin Nabena was reported to have said that the Nigeria’s and APC‘s laws don’t allow someone to contest when convicted unless he was granted pardon.
“Both Nigerian law and APC law prohibited election of person found guilty of criminal offences. Somebody who has been convicted does not have the right to contest on our platform. I have gone to the list of Plateau state and I didn’t see Dariye’s name, but if somebody has managed to collect the form for him, he will be screened out,” Nabena said.
With this saga only time can tell whether Dariye would be allow to contest for the 2019 Plateau Central senatorial election under the platform of APC.
