In a significant legal development, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Friday, invalidated the election of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State. The unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices declared that Governor Yusuf was not a valid candidate in the gubernatorial election held on March 18.
The court’s ruling was grounded in evidence presented by the parties, establishing that Governor Yusuf was not a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) at the time of the election. According to the court, under section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Yusuf was ineligible to contest the governorship election as he was not validly sponsored by the NNPP. Membership in a political party is a prerequisite for election sponsorship.
In delivering the lead judgment, Justice M. U. Adumeh emphasized, “Sponsorship without membership is like putting something on nothing.” Consequently, the appellate court upheld the earlier judgment of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had nullified Governor Yusuf’s election.
The tribunal, in a virtual judgment on September 20, had declared Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the valid winner of the governorship poll. It found irregularities in the ballot papers used to declare Yusuf as the winner, stating that they were neither signed nor stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The tribunal invalidated 165,663 votes credited to the NNPP candidate, reducing his total tally and ultimately declaring Gawuna as the winner.
Governor Yusuf, dissatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, appealed to the Court of Appeal, accusing the tribunal of misapplying the law. The recent appellate court ruling further underscores the legal complexities and scrutiny surrounding electoral processes in Nigeria.