Appeal Court Sacks Abba Kabir, Affirms Yusuf Gawuna As Kano Governor

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the election of Kano Stat Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, as the winner of the March 18 poll.

The three-member panel of justices, in a unanimous decision on Friday, ruled that Governor Yusuf was not a valid candidate in the gubernatorial election held, citing evidence that established his non-membership in the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) at the time of the election.

The court emphasized that under section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Yusuf was not qualified to contest the governorship election as he was not validly sponsored by the NNPP.

The lead judgment delivered by Justice M. U. Adumeh stated, “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.”

As a result, the Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decision of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had nullified Governor Yusuf’s election.

The tribunal had declared Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the valid winner of the election, citing issues with unsigned and unstamped ballot papers relied upon in declaring Yusuf as the winner.

The tribunal had declared 165,663 votes as invalid, leading to the reduction of Governor Yusuf’s tally from 1,019,602 to 853,939 votes. Ganuwa emerged as the winner with 890,705 votes.

Governor Yusuf, dissatisfied with the tribunal’s judgment, appealed to the Court of Appeal, alleging a misapplication of the law.

The recent ruling affirms the tribunal’s decision and raises questions about the validity of Governor Yusuf’s candidacy in the election.

KanyiDaily recalls that before his sack, Governor Abba Yusuf demolished the multi-million naira roundabout located close to Kano Government House entrance.