Kano State Governorship Tribunal, situated at High Court, Miller Road, made a decisive ruling on Wednesday, ousting Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
This tribunal’s verdict nullified Abba Kabir Yusuf’s election as the governor of Kano State, paving the way for Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to be declared the rightful winner of the governorship election in the state.
Prior to this development, the petitioner had presented a substantial five-volume petition, alleging that Abba Kabir Yusuf, popularly known as Abba Gida-Gida, was unqualified to contend in the election. The basis for this claim was that his name was absent from the list of NNPP members submitted to INEC.
In the final vote tally declared by the returning officer, Professor Ahmad Doko Ibrahim, Yusuf secured 1,019,602 votes, with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, closely trailing with 890,705 votes.
APC contended that NNPP did not rightfully win the election, asserting that some of the votes cast for NNPP were invalid. If these invalidated votes were subtracted, APC claimed to have garnered the highest number of lawful votes.
Furthermore, APC raised objections to the Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) declaring Yusuf as the winner. Their argument centered on the margin of lead not surpassing the number of canceled votes, thus insisting that the election should be declared inconclusive.
In a conclusive statement, the three-member tribunal panel, led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay, firmly held that the votes garnered by NNPP were invalid, failing to adhere to the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act. As a result, Nasiru Yusuf-Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress was declared the victor of the governorship election that took place on March 18, 2023.