Kwankwaso Loses Kano, Tribunal Sacks NNPP’s Governor Yusuf

By Adesina Soyooye

The proxy war between the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and the Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, has Ganduje getting the first victory Wednesday, September 20.

The  Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in its ruling sacked NNPP Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf and declared APC Candidate, Nasir Gawuna, the winner of the March 18 Governorship Election.

The three-man Tribunal which, for the first time in the history of Election Petitions in Nigeria, delivered its judgement virtually, for fear of violence in the Court premises, deducted a whopping 165, 663 votes from the total number of votes scored by Yusuf to give Gawuna victory. The Tribunal said the votes deducted were neither stamped nor signed, and so, void.

It ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately, withdraw the Certificate of Return from Governor Yusuf and give same to Gawuna.

Kano is the only State won by NNPP in the March 2023 Governorship election.

Tension had gripped the State in the past one week over the Election Petition. There had been street protests by loyalists of NNPP. A few days ago, the Governor sacked one of his Commissioners who threatened members of the three-man Panel of Judges with death if they deliver a judgment against  Governor Yusuf.

Yusuf is the first Governor to be sacked by an Election Petition since the 2023 General Elections Tribunal started sitting across the country.