The Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, as the winner of the March 18 election.
Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the poll in March.
But on Wednesday, the three-man panel, after hearing the petitions, ordered the withdrawal of the certificate of return which INEC presented to Yusuf and directed a certificate of return to be issued to Gawuna.
As a result of the affected ballots’ non-stamped or non-signed status, the court deducted 165,663 votes from Yusuf’s total as invalid votes.
The decision was made about six months after the APC candidate conceded defeat to Yusuf after INEC gave the NNPP candidate the certificate of return.
On March 29, Gawuna made a two-minute audio statement in which he claimed that “as a good Muslim”, he was obligated to accept the results of the election, whether they were favourable to him or not.
He added that although his campaign team had requested a review of the election results by INEC, upon review, the commission had found Yusuf to be the winner of the election.
The Herald recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission had in March declared Abba Kabir Yusuf. Yusuf who was the anointed candidate of the Rabiu Kwakwanso at the polls defeated the ruling party to emerge as the winner of the poll. However, the governor has said he will appeal the tribunal’s outcome.