Kano State’s governor, Kabir Abba Yusuf (NNPP), was legitimately elected and re-elected in the governorship election held on March 18th, according to the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the tribunal and lower court fired Gov. Kabir Yusuf and affirmed the petitioner, APC and Gawuna, her candidate.
Judge Inyang Okoro, JSC, delivered the lead opinion.
“I have found that the tribunal’s decision to deduct 165,616 votes from the governor’s results was based on provisions of the Electoral Act 2022,” the governor declared in his ruling.
“What happens if a ballot paper is not marked by the Election Commission?”
“A voting paper without the INEC mark is nevertheless valid for certain purposes.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that the ballots in question were not the ones used in the election. Therefore, the Court of Appeal’s ruling upholding the tribunal’s ruling should be overturned.
Ultimately, the lower court misinterpreted their assessment of the ballot papers. Perversion is what this amounts to.
All of the voting papers are therefore returned to Governor Yusuf.
Regarding membership and nomination, the Supreme Court decided as follows:
The nomination or sponsorship of a candidate for an election is wholly the political party’s prerogative, as this court has always ruled.