By NewsBits
The governor of Kano State, Mr Abba Yusuf who was sacked yesterday by the election tribunal is expressing optimism that the judgment will be reversed. The embattled Yusuf was elected on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Recall that the three-man election tribunal headed by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay yesterday nullified the governor’s election and declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Nasir Gawuna, as the winner of the March 2023 governorship election held in the state.
According to the judge, the ballot papers for the 165,663 votes were not signed and stamped, therefore, they were invalid. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that the NNPP polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat the APC whose candidate scored 890,705 votes.
The NNPP candidate thus won with a margin of 128,897 votes. The tribunal directed INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Yusuf and issue a new certificate of return to Gawuna as the duly elected governor of the state.
Reacting to the verdict, Yusuf said in a live broadcast that he would retrieve his mandate through the appellate court. He said his team of lawyers had instructed to “appeal the judgement immediately…to ensure that justice is done.”
“The judges of the tribunal have in their own wisdom delivered their ruling. As human beings their judgement may not be absolutely perfect, there are errors and misapplications of the law as pointed out by our legal team.
“That is why our constitution provides for other stages to go on with- such as Court of Appeal and Supreme Court,” he said. Yusuf appealed for calm, urging Kano residents not to take the law into their own hands.
“Security agents have already been directed to ensure the full protection of lives and properties of innocent citizens across the state. ’This government will continue to work for the development of our state in line with the promises we made while seeking your votes,” the governor added.
Also reacting, the acting national chairman of the NNPP, Mr Abba Ali, appealed to the party’s supporters in the state and across Nigeria to remain calm and maintain the peace, vowing that the judgment would not stand.
“The New Nigeria People’s Party receives with utter incredulity and disbelief the judgment of the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal on the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
“The NNPP recalls with regret that this tribunal has simply replayed the unholy script of 2019 by overturning the will of the people and awarding election results to those who lost the election.
“The reported judgment nullified the free, credible, and globally acclaimed fair election of our governorship candidate, Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf brazenly awarded the election to the APC candidate, Nasiru Gawuna,” he said in a statement.
Ali alleged that the tribunal arrived at its judgment by deducting unfairly Yusuf’s votes by 165,663 and awarding it to the APC candidate. He described the judgment as laughable and a miscarriage of justice.
“The decision of the tribunal is a slap on the face of constitutionalism and the rule of law and is capable of further discouraging the electorate from having confidence in the judiciary. The NNPP will appeal this most unfair judgment,” he added.
