INEC declares Abba Yusuf as governor elect for Kano State

Malam Abba Yusuf, a candidate for the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), has been proclaimed the victor of the Kano State governorship election that took place on March 18.

Abba received 1,019,602 votes, defeating his closest rival, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, the governorship candidate for the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, who received 890,705 votes, according to Professor Ahmed Doko Ibrahim, the chief returning officer for the election, who announced the results at precisely 6:47 am local time at the INEC headquarters in Kano state.

“That Abba, Kabir Yusuf having scored the highest number of votes and having satisfied the requirements of the law is returned elected dated this day 20, March, 2023,” declared the Professor.

The Chief Returning Officer explained that because the confirmed incidents of election-related violence occurred after the vote, these developments have no bearing on the margin of victory in accordance with INEC Guideline 2.

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Difference of 128, 897 votes determines the winner.

Out of the state’s 44 Local Government Areas, NNPP won 30 and APC won 14.

2,320,955 ballots were cast in total, 1,977,872 of them were valid, and 27,092 were invalid.

The NNPP’s party representative at the collation center, Dr. Bappa Bichi, expressed satisfaction with the results and claimed that the declaration of the results represented the acceptance of the will of the Kano people.

It serves as a declaration of our commitment and will to democracy. Opportunity for Kano state and Nigeria as a whole to grow peacefully, together, and economically,” he said.

Suleiman Bichi, the party representative for the APC, responded in a different way, reiterating that the party would examine the legal provisions and take the necessary action while urging the Kano residents to maintain their composure.

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“We reject the interpretation of Guideline Number 2 by the Chief Returning Officer in place of Guideline Number 6. However, I urge everyone in Kano, especially the supporters of our party, to maintain their composure. It’s not the end of the world if you lose an election because there are still more chances to win, he said.