The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has expressed optimism that the party would again defeat the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) at the Supreme Court over the Kano state governorship election dispute.
He said this in a reaction to the victory of the party at the Appeal Court that upheld the sack of the NNPP Abba Yusuf as the Kano state governor.
Ganduje, who applauded the appellate court for dispensing justice, said he was sure that the NNPP would still want to try their luck in the apex court, but assured them of another round of defeat.
He told newsmen in Abuja Friday that “probably, they will go to the Supreme Court which is part of democracy.”
“There is nothing wrong for them to go to the Supreme Court. We, too, are ready to meet them in the Supreme Court. And Insha Allah, we will win in the Supreme Court as well,” he said.
Ganduja commended the judiciary for dispensing justice and for providing good administration of justice despite all the distractions that took place since the beginning of the trial.
He assured the people of Kano state that the good administration that was provided when he was at the helm of affairs for eight years, when Dr. Nasiru Gawuna was his deputy, would be replicated.
“Now, as the governor-elect for Kano state, he will provide a similar and I believe, he will provide a better administration more achievements will be recorded in Kano state because that is what we expect.”
In his reaction, Nasiru Gawuna, while thanking the people of the state, reassured them of his readiness to serve them and promised not to fail them.
The APC also commended the judiciary for “living above blackmail and intimidation of some self-serving political interests.”
The party said the judgements “underscore the vibrancy and independence of the judiciary, and rekindle confidence that the courts are, and remain, the bastion of hope for justice in any democracy.”
The party’s national publicity secretary, Felix Mokar, who said this Friday in a statement, applauded the judiciary for its “courage and professionalism in discharging its important constitutional duties.”
The statement partly read, “In an epochal judgement earlier today, the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja upheld the decision of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 18, 2023 election, affirming the legitimate will of the Kano electorate as expressed at the polls.
“This judgement, sacking Abba Kabi Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as governor of Kano state, comes barely 24 hours after the court declared the governorship election of Zamfara state inconclusive and ordered a rerun in three local government areas of the state.
“As we applaud the judiciary for its courage and professionalism in discharging its important constitutional duties, we urge it to continue to rise above blackmail and intimidation by some self-serving political interests, and continue to give full expression to the tenets of the law, irrespective of the identity or status of parties involved.”
‘Why we affirmed Abba Yusuf’s sacking’
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday justified the sacking of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, saying he was not a valid candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) for the March 18 governorship election.
The appellate court had earlier on Friday upheld the sacking of Yusuf by the State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal.
The appellate court’s judgment is coming barely two months after the tribunal nullified the governor’s election.
In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices led by Justice M. U. Adumeh, the court held that Governor Yusuf was not a valid candidate in the March 18 election.
The panel said evidence that was adduced by the parties established that Yusuf was not a member of NNPP at the time the election was held, adding that under Section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Yusuf was not qualified to contest the governorship election since he was not validly sponsored by the NNPP.
“A person must be a member of a political party before he can be sponsored for an election.
“Sponsorship without membership is like putting something on nothing,” Justice Adumeh said.
Yusuf of the NNPP was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electronic Electoral Commission (INEC) with 1,019,602 million votes, surpassing the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasiru Gawuna’s 890,705 votes.
APC and Gawuna, not satisfied with the result, challenged Yusuf’s victory at the tribunal, alleging electoral malpractices.
Consequently, a three-man panel headed by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, in a virtual ruling, held that some ballot papers that were relied upon to declare Yusuf as the winner of the contest were neither signed nor stamped by INEC.
The panel, thereafter, sacked Yusuf from office on September 20, 2023, after declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid due to the lack of signatures or stamps of the INEC.
As a result, the governor’s votes were reduced to 853,939, while Ganuwa’s 890,705 votes remained.
Dissatisfied with the judgement, Governor Yusuf approached the appellate court to set it aside.
