In a surprising twist, fresh revelations have emerged regarding the Kano governorship election as the Court of Appeal, contrary to public declarations, has set aside the judgment of the Kano petition tribunal.
According to a certified true copy of the Appeal court judgment released on Tuesday, the appellate court upheld the victory of Abba Kabiru Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party ,NNPP, as the duly elected Governor of Kano.
The three-member panel of the appeal court, which dismissed the appeal filed by Governor Yusuf on the basis of his membership status on November 17, 2023, had initially affirmed Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress ,APC, as the winner of the March 25th, 2023 Governorship poll in Kano. However, the court’s written judgment presents a contradictory stance.
The court stated, “I will conclude by stating that the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favour of the 1st respondent ,APC, and against the appellant Governor Abba Yusuf,” but in another sentence, it said, “In the circumstances, I resolve all the issues in favour of the appellant ,NNPP, and against the 1st respondent (APC).” The court further declared, “Therefore, I find no merit in this appeal which is liable to be and is hereby dismissed.”
In a surprising turn of events, the final line of the judgment set aside the tribunal’s decision that sacked the governor. It read, “The judgment of the tribunal In Petition No.: EPT/KN/GOV/01/2023 between: ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS ,APC v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & 2 ORS. delivered on the 20th day of September 2023 is hereby set aside.”
The Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had initially sacked Governor Abba Yusuf on September 20 and declared the candidate of the APC, Nasiru Gawuna, as the winner of the March 18 governorship poll. Dissatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, the governor appealed to the Court of Appeal, leading to the recent development.
Kano state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Haruna Dederi, addressing journalists, emphasized that page 67 of the certified copy of the judgment clearly indicated that the tribunal’s ruling that sacked Governor Yusuf was set aside.
This development contradicts what the judges initially declared in the courtroom on November 17, bringing clarity to the legal status of Abba Yusuf as the legitimate Governor of Kano state.
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