The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to desist from taking any action that could lead to a breakdown of law and order over the controversial local government elections in the State.
The chairman of the Kano State chapter of APC, Abdullahi Abbas, in a statement on Friday, said Governor Yusuf’s incisive statement at a rally in Kano metropolis on Thursday was unbecoming of someone who is supposed to be the chief security officer of the state.
The governor at a political rally held at the Sani Abacha stadium reportedly told a crowd of supporters of the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) that nobody can stop the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) from conducting the local government polls billed Saturday, October 26.
However, the APC called on the state government to adhere to the directive of the Federal High Court in Kano presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda which on Tuesday restrained KANSIEC from holding the planned polls after declaring that the chairman, secretary and commissioners of the electoral agency were unfit for their appointments.
The party noted that the call by the governor on NNPP supporters to ignore the court directive was a clear case of an invitation to anarchy and lawlessness.
“The Governor should simply respect the laws. As law-abiding citizens interested in the growth of our dear state of Kano, the Governor should desist from any act that could throw the state into chaos. Inciting people to take the laws into their hand is not the hallmark of good leadership,” the party noted.
Recall that Justice Amobeda also restrained INEC from issuing voter’s register to KANSIEC while ordering security agencies, including police, DSS and Civil Defence, from participating in the proposed elections.
The court ruled that the KANSIEC chairman and other members of the Commission were card-carrying members of the ruling NNPP, and also are not civil servants above grade level 14, hence they were unfit for their positions.
The Court held that the appointment of the defendants being card-carrying members of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) and involved in partisan politics was contrary to Section 197 (1) (b) and Section 200 (1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and were not qualified to hold such positions in the state electoral body.
