Gov Yusuf rejects Kano tribunal verdict

Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has rejected the judgement of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that nullified his election and declared his opponent the winner.

The tribunal on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, declared Dr Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the rightful winner of the March 18 governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) winner of the election with 1,019,602 votes to defeat Gawuna who scored 890,705 votes.

However, in its ruling, the court deducted 165,663 votes from Yusuf’s total as invalid votes.

The court ruled that 165,663 ballot papers were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.

Reacting to the verdict, Yusuf described the tribunal’s verdict as “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice”.

He vowed to appeal against the judgement and urged his supporters to remain calm.

“I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgement and we are sure justice will be done.

“Let our people be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate”, he added.

He said he was convinced that the judgement was full of errors, adding that he won’t let it dampen his morale because it is a temporary setback.

“The judgement does not in any way mean that we are just going out of government, we are still in power and even tomorrow we are going to hold the weekly Executive Council Meeting to come out with laudable projects.

“The judgement will not dampen our morale because it is a temporary setback; we will get justice at the Apex Court,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, following the tribunal verdict, the Kano State Police Command has announced the strict enforcement of a 24-hour curfew.

The curfew which started from 6 pm on Wednesday, September 20, to 6 pm on Thursday, September 21, 2023, was imposed as a measure to maintain law and order in the state.