Ganduje calls for peace
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kano has on Wednesday declared Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the Kano governorship election.
The tribunal cancelling some votes recorded by the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, candidate and Kano
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadabey said the margin of votes scored by the NNPP was not enough to give Governor Yusuf victory.
It said some of the votes credited to Yusus were invalid.
APC’s Gawuna won all three grounds presented before the tribunal which include over voting, invalid votes and not being a member of the party as at the time of the NNPP primary election.
The Tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to retrieve the Certificate of Return issued to Yusuf and give the same to Gawuna as the original winner of the election.
She declared that the position of the law states that one must be a bonafide member of a political party before he was allowed to contest elections, while in the case of Abba Kabir Yusuf, he wasn’t a member of NNPP 30 stipulated dates before the conduct of the general elections.
After the deduction of votes, Gawuna was declared the winner with 897,000 votes, while Abba got 850,000 votes.
Meanwhile, in another development, The Kano State Government has declared a 24-hour curfew in the state following an election tribunal verdict sacking the incumbent Governor.
The curfew was confirmed in a statement signed by the state Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Usain Gummel.
According to the CP, the Twenty Four – hour curfew order was communicated by the State Government via letter with Reference No: K/SEC/H/435/T.1/153 dated 20th September 2023, taking effect from 6 pm of Wednesday, 20th September to 6 pm of Thursday, 21st September 2023.
CP Gummel warned sternly that, “Violators will be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.”
The full text of CP’s statement reads: “Given the Constitutional mandate of the Nigeria Police Force alongside the relevant Internal Security and Law Enforcement Agencies to preserve law and order in the State, the Kano State Police Command have mapped out strategies on that direction and call on the good people of the State to give the necessary confidence and supports.
“Going forward, Kano State residents are called upon to note that combined Security Forces have already been dispatched to the nooks and crannies including the entry and exits of the State to ensure enforcement and strict compliance of the 24-hour hours (24hrs) Curfew order as communicated by the State Government via letter with Reference No: K/SEC/H/435/T.1/153 dated 20th September 2023 taking effect from 6 pm of Wednesday, 20th September to pm of Thursday, 21st September 2023. Violators will be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.
“Finally, I wish to appreciate all the peace-loving People of the State and urge them to remain law abiding as it’s in the best interest of all that we come together to maintain law and order in the State”, CP Gummel said.
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The lawyer of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State, Bashir Yusuf Muhammad Tudun Wada has revealed the next line of action of the party after the ruling of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday.
According to Tudun Wada, NNPP will appeal the ruling of the tribunal which nullified the victory of the party’s candidate, Abba Yusuf.
Tudun Wada revealed this while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the tribunal gave its judgment.
The tribunal on Wednesday sacked Yusuf and declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress winner of the March 18 election.
He said, “The tribunal has delivered its judgment, we are going to consult our clients and I can assure you that we are going to appeal against this judgment.
“Because it is a judgment which we felt does not manifest the justice of the matter and I can assure you this decision will be set aside on appeal. It is not a new thing if you look at the decision that has been taken by the Tribunal in Osun state is almost the same as this one. That the tribunal without evidence can go and look at the document that was tendered before it. I can assure you this judgment will not see the light of the day in the Court of Appeal by God’s grace.”
Ganduje calls for peace
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has appealed to the people of Kano State to remain calm, following the judgment of the state Election Petitions Tribunal, which affirmed the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, Nasiru Gawuna, as the duly elected governor.
The APC had challenged the victory of Governor Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party, who was earlier declared winner of the contentious March 18 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Addressing newsmen at his Asokoro residence in Abuja, Ganduje, who was flanked by Gawuna and a former Governor of the state, Senator Kabir Gaya, described the tribunal judgment as a vindication of what they already know.
This was even as the former Kano governor urged the residents of the ancient city to remain calm, assuring them that businesses would flourish again.
He said, “Today is a historic day. We thank Allah for providing an enabling environment for the judiciary to deliver fair and transparent judgment in our favour. The judgment is true (reflection of the electoral outcome). We thank the judiciary, our party leaders in our state, the business community, the media and various support groups.
“We have to commend everybody in Kano state for being patient and for their continuous prayers for Allah to give us victory. We urged them to continue to be peaceful and to continue to conduct themselves peacefully. We assure the business community that our new government if we come in, Insha Allah, under our able Governor, Dr Yusuf Gawana that business will flourish in Kano again.
“We thank Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who is now in America, for creating an enabling environment for judiciary to flourish in Nigeria. We thank members of the press for giving coverage to enlighten and educate the people. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you and God bless you.”
