Kano: We’re shocked by Appeal Court ruling — NNPP

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has expressed shock just as it rejected the rulings of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the nullification of its candidate in the March 18 governorship, Abba Kabir Yusuf, as the duly elected governor of Kano State.

The party described the November 17, 2022, Appeal Court judgement as a miscarriage of justice, which is a threat to democracy in Nigeria.

The acting national chairman, Abba Kawu Alli, while calling on the judiciary to live up to its calling as the temple of justice and the last hope of the common man, said the NNPP believes that the Supreme Court will correct the errors of the tribunal and the Appeal Court and restore the mandate of the good people of Kano State by reaffirming Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf as the duly elected governor of Kano State.

Kawu Alli, who was addressing the media at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Saturday, said the people of Kano overwhelmingly chose Governor Kabir Yusuf over the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, with the Governor garnering more than 130,000 votes over his opponent. While the Governor polled 1,019,602 votes, Gawuna scored 890,705 votes.

According to the NNPP leader, the claim that Governor Kabir Yusuf is not a member of the party did not hold water, as the NNPP followed the rules and guidelines stipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through its portal, where only registered and nominated members of a party are uploaded.

“We welcome you to the national headquarters of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the aftermath of the ruling of the Appeal Court in an election petition by the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) against the popular mandate of the people of Kano freely given to Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf of our great party, the NNPP.

We are gathered here today to convey our outright rejection of and express our dismay at the ruling of the Court of Appeal in respect of the only elected Governor on the platform of our dear party, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

To say the least, we are shocked at the miscarriage of justice delivered on November 17, 2023, on the governorship election petition of Kano State.

You would recall that the candidate of our party in the March 2023 governorship election in Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir, was overwhelmingly elected by the good people of Kano State with a whopping vote of 1,019,602 to defeat the APC candidate, who came a distant second.

“The margin between Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the APC candidate was around 130,000 votes. You may also recall that the candidate of the APC conceded defeat and congratulated Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf immediately.

Surprisingly, after the issuance of the Certificate of Return by INEC, the APC filed a bogus petition before the election tribunal, which its own candidate refused to join.

“In spite of overwhelming evidence presented to the tribunal by our team of lawyers, the tribunal passed one of the most ridiculous judgements in the history of election jurisprudence in Nigeria and unjustly declared the APC candidate, who never joined the petition, as the winner of the election.

“Believing in the credibility of the judiciary and its ability to correct any error of judgement by the lower court, our party approached the Court of Appeal and prayed the appellate court to set aside the unjust ruling of the lower court.

To our greatest shock and consternation, the Court of Appeal delivered a convoluted judgement on November 17, 2023, that was anchored around their erroneous belief that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP.

“To claim that His Excellency, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, was not a member of the NNPP at the time of the 2023 general election is, to say the least, the worst of mischief anybody can come up with.

For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf was and is still a card-carrying bona fide member of the NNPP.

Any claim to the contrary is only a figment of the imagination of the mischief-makers. How could he have contested the election when the INEC portal for the submission of candidate nominations and expressions of interest forms could not have accepted any form that was not uploaded together with a copy of the NNPP membership card of the nominee?

“For our party, and we are sure for INEC as well, the issue of the membership of candidates is a non-issue since the system of nomination is designed by INEC in such a way that only registered members can be nominated and uploaded onto the portal.

It is therefore unbelievable that the Appeal Court would refuse to look at the merit of our party’s appeal and cling to the erroneous issue of membership that has already been settled severally by both the Appeal and Supreme Courts.

“We are therefore informing all members of the NNPP and indeed all Nigerians that our party has already briefed our lawyers to appeal this injustice at the Supreme Court.

While we believe that the Supreme Court will correct the errors of the tribunal and the Appeal Court and restore the mandate of the good people of Kano State by re-affirming Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf as the duly elected Governor of Kano State, we are not unmindful of the political desperation of the APC leaders in Kano State, who were roundly rejected at the polls and who are now scampering to hijack power at all costs through the chambers of the Court as they did in 2019.

“We pray that the Judiciary will live up to its calling as the temple of justice and the last hope of the common man.”

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