The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has expressed concern about the fate of democracy in Nigeria following the Appeal Court ruling affirming its party’s removal from office yesterday in Kano
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had sacked NNPP’s Abba Yusuf as governor of Kano State, upholding the decision of the lower election petition tribunal that had earlier nullified the governor’s election.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Moore Adumein, in a unanimous judgement yesterday, declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 18 governorship election in Kano State.
The tribunal had declared Gawuna the winner of the election after removing what it described as invalid votes cast in favour of Yusuf.
But the Court of Appeal anchored its decision on the disqualification of Yusuf as a candidate in the election, saying he was not a member of the NNPP at the time of the election.
The court added that without being a member of a political party, Yusuf could not have been validly nominated to run for the election in March.
“Yusuf Abba was not a member of the NNPP as of the time he was purportedly sponsored on March 18 for the Kano governorship election,” the judge ruled.
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“The tribunal was wrong not to have disqualified the appellant, Governor Yusuf. The failure of NNPP to properly sponsor Mr Yusuf according to Section 177 (c) of the constitution is fatal to their case.
“All the nine issues are hereby resolved against the appellant. This appeal is hereby dismissed. The sum of N1 million is awarded as cost against Governor Yusuf,” Justice Adumein declared.
But in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, the chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Hashimu Dungurawa, said the party was disappointed with the court verdict and expressed concern that democracy was under threat in Nigeria.
The NNPP chairman described the Appeal Court verdict as a sign of doom for democracy in Nigeria.
“The judgement is very much unexpected. We never expected it would happen this way. The way things are going and with the way the judicial system is, definitely democracy is coming to an end in this country.
“I see no reason why a person will go to the grassroots and introduce himself to the people; they will go to the polling booths to cast their votes, and the election umpire will issue him a certificate of return and he will enter office and just one, two or three people will sit down and remove him. This is very unbecoming and is not helping matters.”
He described democracy as a game of numbers which his party had proven to be ahead of other contenders in the state but their expectations have been dashed by the Appeal Court verdict.
He went on: “In all the Assembly members we are having 26 out of 40, we are having two out of three senators. And even the presidential candidate is from the state and had the highest votes in a state in the presidential contest.
“We are not happy with this judgement and consider it not acceptable. We will take all the necessary steps to reclaim our stolen mandate, because this is a stolen mandate and we will not allow it. People of Kano State are not happy with it, NNPP people are not happy with it,” he declared.
Yusuf, the incumbent governor, who had won the governorship election on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), had locked in a fierce legal battle with Nasiru Gawuna of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), over the outcome of the poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mr Yusuf the winner of the March 18election with 1,019,602 votes against Mr Gawuna’s 890,705 votes.
Yusuf had ridden on the popularity of a former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and his political machinery, the Kwankwasiya Movement, to defeat Gawuna of the then ruling APC in the state.
But Gawuna challenged the election outcome at the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
In a unanimous verdict on September 20, a three-member panel of the tribunal set aside Yusuf’s victory after declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid.
The lower tribunal, therefore, declared Gawuna, who turned out to have the highest number of votes after the deduction from Mr Yusuf’s score, as the lawfully elected candidate.
However, the governor appealed against the tribunal’s decision at the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the tribunal ruling.
The governor is expected to appeal the verdict at the Supreme Court which is the final court of instance.
Uneasy Calm, Mixed Reactions in Kano
Kano remained in uncertainty and calm as security operatives were placed in strategic locations in anticipation of any reaction by supporters.
Activities continued as usual yesterday. However, the state governor, Yusuf, and many of his aides had not been seen in the state for no fewer than seven days before the verdict.
Earlier, some schools in the metropolis sent back students and pupils back home while some private businesses, especially shop owners, did not open for business because of the fear of the unknown despite the presence of security officers in strategic areas.
However, the Appeal Court verdict elicited mixed reaction especially among the youths.
According to Young Masak, “INEC announced our mandate, who we voted for but the court has overturned it. This is not acceptable but we have left everything to God, but from now onward, I will never participate in any of Nigeria’s election or politics.”
He argued that if INEC can declare the winner of an election following people’s wish and the court will upturn it, then there is no point participating.
Similarly, another resident, Abdulrahaman Nura, who expressed dissatisfaction at the judgement, said the court has not been fair to Governor Abba Yusuf and his followers.
He said, “What we want is for them to give who has won. It is a selfish judgement as far as I’m concerned. Whatever they have decided, we leave everything to God.”
An APC supporter, Usman Shuiabu, however said “God has been merciful and has given us back our mandate.”
He called on NNPP supporters to come and join hands with the APC to move the state forward.
“We in the APC don’t segregate; they should come even with their advice so that we can move on. This is divinely designed by God, and we are all one. They should not cause any trouble because that will not stop God’s will.”
…As APC Hails Judiciary Over Kano, Zamfara Rulings
National chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, yesterday declared that democracy had come to stay in Nigeria.
Ganduje made this declaration while addressing journalists in Abuja on the heels of the Appeal Court’s verdict affirming the APC candidate, Dr Nasiru Gawuna as winner of the last governorship election in Kano state.
The APC national chairman hailed the appellate court for providing good administration of justice despite all the distractions that took place since the beginning of the case.
“This is an indication that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria. Democracy we can say is matured in Nigeria. We have to thank all those stakeholders, even the political parties, even the NNPP that took us to the Appeal Court.
“We have to thank them because they are part of the process of democracy.
“For Kano State, this victory is for all of us. We are fully aware, we know what happened during the election. A lot of malpractices and we took the issue to the tribunal. And by the grace of God, we got a fair judgement in favour of our great party, APC.”
On his part, Gawuna welcomed the court’s judgement and promised not to fail the people of Kano if he finally clinches the governorship seat.
“I am so happy, yet I am still deep in my thoughts because I have to sit down and think very well. Because of the confidence and expectations of the people on us, we are praying that we are not going to fail our people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ruling APC has applauded the Appeal Court for its ruling which affirmed that its candidate in Kano, Gawuna, as winner of the March polls and declared Zamfara State governorship election inconclusive.
The party, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Felix Morka yesterday said both judgements underscore the vibrancy and independence of the judiciary, and rekindles confidence that the courts are the bastion of hope for justice in any democracy.
“As we applaud the judiciary for its courage and professionalism in discharging its important constitutional duties, we urge it to continue to rise above blackmail and intimidation by some self-serving political interests, and continue to give full expression to the tenets of the law, irrespective of the identity or status of parties involved.
“We congratulate our victorious members, and urge the good people of Kano and Zamfara states to remain calm and peaceful,” the statement reads.
Appeal Court Affirms Governor Bala Mohammed Victory
Meanwhile, the Appellate Court division in Abuja yesterday affirmed Governor Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state.
Delivering the judgement, the panel of three justices unanimously affirmed Mohammed’s victory in the appeal brought by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Ambassador Sadique Abubakar, challenging his victory in the March 18, 2023 election at the Election Petition Tribunal in Bauchi which affirmed his election.
Commenting on the verdict, the Bauchi State deputy governor, Mohammed Auwal Jatau, said the victory at the court not only affirms the strength of democracy, but solidifies the commitment of the present administration of Governor Bala Mohammed towards the progress, development, and the general well being of the good people of the state.
It would be recalled that during the 2023 election Mohammed of the PDP polled 525, 280 to return as winner while his closest contender, Sadique Baba Abubakar had 432, 272 votes.
