National Stability: Political Leaders Caution Tinubu On Kano Election

Prominent political leaders and civil society groups are appealing to President Bola Tinubu to accept the outcome of the recent Kano state governorship election for the sake of Nigeria’s stability and unity.

In a roundtable discussion, led by Chief Oguntade Omolewa of the Forum for National Integration and Development, the elders cautioned Tinubu against pursuing legal action to overturn the Kano election results, which saw opposition candidate Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja is expected to give judgment in the appeal filed by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State to challenge his removal by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

A three-member panel of judges led by Justice Oluyemi Osadebay sacked Yusuf on September 20, 2023, by declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid because they were not signed or stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The governor’s votes were then reduced to 853,939 while Ganuwa retained his 890,705 votes.

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But speaking at the event yesterday, Omolewa said, “We implore President Tinubu to play the politics of inclusion and national cohesion rather than division.”

Similarly, civil society leader and former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance National Party, Moshood Shittu reminded Tinubu of his own legacy as an opposition figure who was allowed to govern Lagos State, despite PDP’s dominance at the federal level.

He urged the appellate court to take national interest and security into important consideration when discharging the reserved judgment on Kano. 

He said “We, of course, wouldn’t want a political crisis in Kano, hence our call for use of discretion and intelligence in dispensing justice. 

“The people of Kano voted en masse for the NNPP governor Abba Kabir Yusuf during the 2023 governorship elections.”