Election Petition Tribunal sacks Abba Kabir Yusuf as Kano governor
THE Kano governorship election petition tribunal has sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC’s) candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, as the winner of the March 18 election.
Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the poll in March.
On Wednesday, the three-man panel ordered the withdrawal of certificate of return which INEC presented to Governor Yusuf and directed a certificate of return to be issued to Gawuna.
The court deducted 165, 663 votes from total votes scored by Governor Yusuf on the grounds that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and were therefore declared invalid.
The judgement was delivered virtually, as no one knows where the panel sat.
Already, the election petition judges have received death threats from one of the commissioner of Governor Yusuf.
Although the governor sacked the commissioner, observers said the threat resonated so deeply among the judges, forcing them to deliver their judgement virtually.
Why Election Tribunal sacked Gov Yusuf
Led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay, the three-man panel ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Yusuf and hand it over to Gawuna.
Stating reasons why the Kano governor was sacked, the panel said the margin of votes scored by NNPP was invalid and not in compliance with the 2022 electoral act.
The judges deducted 165,663 votes from the NNPP, adding that the ballot papers of the 165,663 were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.
According to figures announced by INEC in the election, NNPP polled 1,019,602 votes while APC scored 890, 705 votes, leaving a difference of 128,897 votes.
But after voiding 165,663 ballot papers, NNPP votes dropped to 853,939, while APC remained at 890,705, leaving a difference of 36,766 votes in favour of APC.
The tribunal said the petitioner has proven the allegation of the invalidity of some of the votes cast on the ground that the election was not in compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The tribunal therefore ordered that the invalid votes scored by Mr Yusuf be expunged from the total votes he scored.
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