Kano NNPP Could Reclaim Mandate Through Court – Civil Liberties Organisation

Following the defection of the Governor of Kano State Abba Yusuf from the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has said the NNPP can reclaim its mandate if diligently pursues the case in court.

The organisation added that the outcome of such legal action could be the Deputy Governor, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, who refused to defect, becoming the governor of the state.

Gwarzo had refused to defect alongside his principal to the ruling party, APC.

The North Central coordinator of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Comrade Steve Aluko, who stated this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Jos, explained that the law is clear about the political party that contests and wins the peopled’ mandate after an election.

“So if the Deputy Governor chooses not to follow his principal to the APC, and the NNPP decides to go to court and seriously pursue its case, Kano State would effectively have no governor.

“Consequently, the deputy governor would take over,” Aluko said.

He maintained that under normal circumstances any elected office holder who wants to defect to another political party must first resign from his or her seat.

Aluko further stressed, “The law is clear that in the absence of a Governor, the Deputy Governor takes charge. There is no ambiguity about this,” he warned.