The NNPP is not happy with the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal’s decision to overturn Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf’s election. During a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, Nwaeze Onu, the acting deputy national chairman of the party, expressed his dissatisfaction with the verdict. He believes that the judgment was unjust and could undermine trust in the judiciary. Therefore, the party plans to appeal the decision.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Nasiru Gawuna, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the March 18 governorship election in Kano State. The tribunal directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to grant Mr. Gawuna the certificate of return instead of Mr. Kabir-Yusuf of the NNPP.
However, there are concerns that the tribunal’s decision was unfair, as it deducted 165,663 votes from Kabir-Yusuf’s total count to award the APC candidate the election. It is believed that the tribunal believed the APC candidate’s vote count was unchallengeable. This decision will be a difficult situation for the tribunal to prove to impartial Nigerians that the NNPP won all other elections in Kano State except for the governorship race, according to Mr. Onu’s remarks.
It’s important to note that Senator Musa Kwankwaso, the NNPP’s presidential candidate, won by a significant margin against the APC’s candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu, in Kano State. Additionally, the NNPP secured two senatorial seats, while the APC only managed to win one. The NNPP also won 18 seats in the House of Representatives elections, compared to the APC’s four.
Moreover, at the House of Assembly elections, the NNPP gained a clear majority of seats, in contrast to the APC’s small number of seats. However, the tribunal claimed that over-voting was responsible for the NNPP’s success in the governorship election. Mr. Onu believes that the NNPP will regain the mandate that was freely given by the people of Kano State, in accordance with the 1999 Constitution and the law. He strongly believes that the one-sided judgment is unfair and lacks natural justice.