Appeal Court sacks Kano Governor
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has nullified the election of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State.
Recall that a three-man panel of judges led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay had sacked Yusuf on September 20, 2023, by declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid.
The court said the votes were invalid because they were not signed or stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Votes garnered by the governor who contested under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, were then reduced to 853,939, while those of Nasir Ganuwa of the All Progressives Congress, APC remained at 890,705.
The Kano State Governorship Election Petition Court then nullified the election of Yusuf, declaring the APC candidate the true winner of the March 18 poll.
Governor Yusuf filed an appeal at the appellate court seeking to set aside the verdict of the lower court.
Ruling on the matter, the Appeal Court upheld the ruling of the tribunal, saying the governor was not qualified to contest the poll.
According to the appeal court, Governor Yusuf was not a member of NNPP at the time the elections were conducted.
Justice Moore Adumein read the unanimous judgment that was greeted with thunderous jubilations which shook the court for several minutes.
