The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the tribunal judgment that nullified the election of Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State.
The Appeal Court in its judgment on Friday, concurred with the judgment of the Kano tribunal, ruling that the fielding of Abba Yusuf was in breach of the Electoral Law as he was not qualified to contest that Election.
Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The tribunal had previously nullified the election of Kano Governor Abba Yusuf by declaring 165, 663 of his votes were invalid stating the ballot papers were not signed nor stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The ruling came about six months after the APC candidate conceded defeat to Yusuf in the wake of INEC’s presentation of the certificate of return to the NNPP candidate.
In a two-minute audio statement on March 29, Gawuna stated that “as a good Muslim”, he was compelled to accept the outcome of the election, whether in his favour or not.
He added that although his campaign team had requested a review of the election results by INEC, upon review, the commission had found Yusuf to be the winner of the election.
Responding to the verdict of the court, the All Progressives Congress (APC) described it as a show of the vibrancy of the nation’s judiciary.
“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 the parties involved,” the party’s spokesman Felix Morka said.
