Appeal Court Upholds Tribunal Ruling, Sacks Kano Gov Abba Yusuf, APC Reacts

Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf has been sent packing from the government house following the verdict of an appeal court on Friday.

The appeal court, sitting in Abuja, upheld the verdict of the tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay which had previously sack Yusuf on September 20, 2023.

Recall that Theliberationnews reported that, in its judgement, the tribunal declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Gawuna, as the duly elected candidate in the 18 March gubernatorial election.

In March, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared that the NNPP polled 1,019,602 votes against the APC’s 890,705 to emerge victorious.

But the tribunal invalidated over 165,663 ballots thumbprinted in favour of NNPP. The court ruled that the votes were deducted because the ballot papers with which they were cast were not stamped or signed. This rendered the votes invalid, according to the tribunal.

The tribunal said the petitioner was able to prove the allegation of the invalidity of some of the votes on the grounds that the election was not in compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Therefore, the tribunal ordered that the invalid votes be expunged from Yusuf’s scores.

Dissatisfied with the tribunal’s judgement, Yusuf in a notice of appeal dated 2 October 2023, argued that the tribunal erred when it relied on sections 71 and 63 of the Electoral Act, 2022 to invalidate the 165,616 ballot papers returned in his favour.

The governor also said the respondent, (the APC) “did not plead with the polling units where the alleged invalid papers ballot papers were used and the tribunal was, therefore, wrong to accede to cancel the lawful votes”.

There was no witness presented by the first respondent to testify as to the use of any of the ballot papers in any polling unit. NNPP argued that the tribunal did not demonstrate in its judgement how it arrived at its decision on 165,616 invalid votes against the appellant.

The governor also argued in ground 20, that the tribunal misdirected itself when it went out of the judicial duties by constituting itself into witnesses, investigators and sat as judges.

The ruling is not the last of judicial pronouncement on the election, as the losing party after the Appeal Court ruling is constitutionally allowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, the country’s highest court with the final say on the electoral dispute.

The sacking of Yusuf is coming 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.

Reacting to the developments, APC lauded the judiciary as it appealed for peace and calm in the two states.

In a statement signed by the
National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, Esq. and made available to Theliberationnews, the ruling party noted that the two verdicts underscored the vibrancy and independence of the judiciary, and rekindled confidence that the courts are, and remain, the bastion of hope for justice.
The statement reads: “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.

“Both judgements underscore the vibrancy and independence of the judiciary, and rekindles confidence that the courts are, and remain, the bastion of hope for justice in any democracy.

“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.

“We congratulate our victorious members, and urge the good people of Kano and Zamfara states to remain calm and peaceful.”