Kano Governor-elect Not Qualified, APC Tells Tribunal

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state has requested that Abba Kabir Yusuf’s election as the state’s next governor be annulled on the grounds that he was ineligible to run for office.

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), which Yusuf was elected on behalf of, claimed in its petition that Yusuf was not a party member at the time the election was held.
It stated that a political party may only sponsor a member for the elective office of governor of Kano and that a candidate for governor who is not a member of the political party claiming to be his sponsor is ineligible to run for office.

The party said Yusuf was not validly and duly nominated by his party, NNPP before being presented as it’s candidate for the election.

The APC urged the tribunal to set aside his election and declared its candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, as the winner of the election having scored the highest number of votes.

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The petitioner said, “In Part A of the INEC Form EC 9 – Affidavit of Personal Particular of the 2nd respondent submitted to the 1st Respondent reflects that the membership number of the 2nd respondent is NNPP/HQ/KN/GWL/DS/001. No such number is contained in the 3rd Respondent’s (NNPP) register of members. The plan of the 2nd Respondent (Yusuf) to provide a conscripted membership card is a failed attempt to claim membership of the 3rd Respondent in order to mislead the 1st respondent (INEC) that the 2nd respondent possessed the constitutional qualification to contest the election into the office of the governor of Kano State, while indeed he was not qualified to contest the election, being not a member of the political party that sponsored his election.
“Your petitioner says that the Affidavit of personal Particulars wherein the 2nd Respondent claims membership of the 3rd Respondent as Member No. NNPP/HQ/KN/GWL/DISO/001 is a false certificate because no such membership number or name exists in the Register of the 3rd Respondent.”

The party said the 3rd respondent could not have validly sponsored the 2nd Respondent, who, not being a registered member or a person whose name is on the register of members of the 3rd Respondent, submitted to the 1st Respondent before the primary election of the 3rd Respondent in compliance with the relevant provision of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“The petitioner avers that the 2nd respondent, not being a registered member of the 3rd Respondent, could not validly have been sponsored by the 3rd Respondent as its candidate for Kano State Governorship Elections held on March 18, 2023. The membership Number stated in Part A of the said INEC EC 9 are not those of the 2nd Respondent nor does he have any at any point material in time to the fact of this petition.
“The petitioner claims that all 1,019,602 votes recorded on March 18, 2023, for the second and third respondents are invalid and wasted votes because the second respondent is/was not eligible to run in the election in the first place.

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“That the petitioner’s candidate is, therefore, entitled to be declared the winner of the election because she has received the greatest number of valid votes—890,705 in the Kano State Governorship Election, as shown in the table below—and she has complied with all legal requirements.

The party claimed that “the second respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawfully cast votes at the election.”