The Supreme Court has fixed Friday, January 12, 2024, to deliver judgment on the Kano State governorship election dispute between Governor Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party and the All Progressives Congress candidate, Dr. Nasiru Gawuna.
This is contained in a notice issued by the apex court to all the parties in the suit on Wednesday.
Also, barring last-minute change of plan, the apex court will deliver judgement in six other governorship disputes before it.
According to the notice, the court directed that each party should not have more than two lawyers in attendance.
In late December last year, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Inyang Okoro had listened to arguments by the parties concerned and reserved judgment on the Kano case.
Kano state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, and his party NNPP, had filed an appeal against the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed his sacking as earlier pronounced by the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
Recall that the Tribunal had sacked Governor Yusuf and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw his certificate of return and instead issue same to to Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
However, not satisfied with the Tribunal judgement, Governor Yusuf had approached the Appeal Court. But the appellate court had while affirming his sack, further held that the governor was not a member of the party as of the time of the election and could not have been said to have been properly sponsored for the election.
