After Zamfara, Appeal Court Voids Kano Governor’s Election

*Rules Abba Yusuf not qualified to contest, tension high in state

*Upholds election of Bala Mohammed in Bauchi

Alex Enumah in Abuja, Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi and Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

About 24 hours after declaring the 2023 Zamfara State Governorship election inconclusive and ordering fresh polls in three local government areas, the Court of Appeal in Abuja yesterday held that the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), in the last governorship election in Kano State, Governor Abba Yusuf, was not qualified to contest the election.
The appellate court subsequently upheld the judgment of the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal, which declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, as the authentic winner of the March 18 poll.

On the same day, the Court of Appeal, Abuja, affirmed the re-election of Bala Mohammed as Governor of Bauchi State.
According to the three-member panel, led by Justice M.A Adumeh, that heard the Yusuf Vs Gawuna case, evidence before it showed that Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP as at the time he was sponsored by the party to contest the March 18 governorship election in Kano State.
Specifically, the appellate court in the unanimous judgment held that the NNPP breached the constitution by sponsoring Yusuf who was not a member of the party.

The three-man panel of the court held that every political party shall maintain the register of its voters, adding that the appellant to his own detriment did not submit his NNPP membership register or even tendered his statement on oath regarding his membership of the party.
The court said the 1999 Constitution made it mandatory for a political party to have a membership register and submit the same to INEC and the tribunal when needed.

The court said the name of Abba was not in the NNPP membership register.
“As rightfully found, Yusuf Abba was not a member of the NNPP at the time he was purportedly sponsored by his party and he was not qualified to contest the March Governorship Election,” the appellate court held.
“If you claim to be a member of a political party, is it not logical for you to say so by yourself and not by proxy?
“Even though membership of a political party is an internal affair, a political party cannot be permitted to circumvent or breach the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

“The Tribunal was wrong not to have disqualified the appellant on the basis of the membership of the NNPP.
“Therefore, the failure of the appellant and the NNPP to comply with the 1999 Constitution is fatal to their election.
“All issues in this appeal are dismissed and the judgement of the tribunal is affirmed,” the court held.
The appellate court said the appellant did not provide credible and cogent reason for it to overturn the judgment of the tribunal.
Adumeh further berated political parties for always blaming their defeat at the court on the judges.
He said, “The same party will wake up to accuse the judiciary, including infamous allegations of corrupt practices. All the issues are hereby resolved against the appellant. The judgement of the tribunal is hereby affirmed. The sum of N1 million is hereby awarded in favour of the first respondent against the appellant.”
INEC had announced NNPP’s Yusuf as winner of the March 18, 2023 election, having scored 1,019,602 votes to defeat Gawuna who got 890,705 of the votes cast.
However, following APC and Gawuna’s petition, the tribunal held that there was evidence of irregularities and corrupt practices resulting in the cancellation of over 160,000 ballot papers on grounds that the ballot papers “were not signed or stamped by INEC.
Following the deduction of the over 160,000 votes from Yusuf’s scores, his garnered votes then came down to about 853,939, less than the 890,705 polled by Gawuna.
The tribunal subsequently declared Gawuna the authentic winner of the March 18 governorship election.
Dissatisfied, Yusuf approached the Court of Appeal, to challenge his sack by the tribunal.
Meanwhile, the Kano state Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas has described the party’s victory at the appeal court as one for all the people of the state.
Speaking at a press conference in Kano yesterday, Abba said: “I am happy to inform all those victims of demolition by the NNPP. administration at Eid ground, Salanta, and other places that this is their victory and that their saviour has arrived.
“We assure the people of Kano that their responsible government has returned, so they have nothing to fear again.”
But the Chairman of the NNPP in Kano State, Hashimu Dungurawa described the Appeal Court’s verdict as a doom for democracy in Nigeria.
Dungurawa said: “The judgement is very 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 booth to cast their votes, and the Independent election umpire will issue him a certificate of return and he will enter office and just one two or three people in the court 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, the NNPP, had proven to be ahead of other contenders in the state, but that their expectations have been dashed by the Appeal Court’s verdict.

“Democracy is said to be a game of numbers and the person in question happens to get the highest numbers in the election.
“Of all the Assembly members, we have 26 out of 40, we have two out of three Senators. Even the Presidential candidate is from the state and has 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,” Dungurawa declared.

Election of Bala Mohammed Affirmed

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, yesterday affirmed the re-election of Bala Mohammed as Governor of Bauchi State and dismissed the appeal by former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Rtd) challenging the victory of Mohammed at the March 18 governorship election.
INEC had declared Mohammed and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winner of the Bauchi governorship election, having scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the poll.
While Mohammed polled 525,280 votes to emerge victorious, Abubakar on the other hand scored 432,272, to emerge second.
Dissatisfied, Abubakar and his party, the APC proceeded to the Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the electoral umpire’s declaration.

But his petition was dismissed for lacking in merit, thereby prompting the instant appeal.
Delivering judgement, Justice Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations of non-compliance and other irregularities.
In faulting the case of the appellant, the court held that the appellant did not call relevant officials of the electoral umpire, such as Supervising and Presiding officers to give evidence to prove that the said forms were not filled and why.  

Justice Uwa held that though there were blank spaces in some of the forms produced as evidence, it was not substantial enough to cancel the election, because the appellants failed to prove what should have been in those spaces.
She said “from the pleadings, the appellants failed to state the specific details which were to be in the alleged forms, that were not put on the forms.”
The judge said the tribunal did a thorough job in evaluating the evidence and that “the evidence of the petitioners were unreliable.
“This appeal is hereby dismissed as the appellants failed to prove their case” Justice Uwa said.

Recall that the Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on September 5, 2023, upheld Mohammed’s re-election as Bauchi State Governor.
In the judgement delivered by a three-man panel, led by Justice P.T Kwahar, the court held that there is no strong reason to nullify the election as the election was conducted in compliance with the law.

Meanwhile, Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Mohammed Auwal Jatau welcomed the Appeal Court verdict which affirmed their election.
Jatau said the victory not only affirms the strength of democracy, but solidifies the commitment of the present administration of Bala Mohammed to the progress, development, and the general well-being of the good people of the state.

The Deputy Governor also said the resounding victory at the appeal court was a triumph for all the people of the state, as it signifies the PDP-led administration’s collective endeavors in advancing good governance, providing quality education, ensuring accessible healthcare, fostering economic growth, and promoting peace and unity.
Jatau said, “I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to all the citizens of Bauchi state for their unwavering support and trust in our administration.

“It is their resilience, determination, and belief in our vision that has brought us to this remarkable milestone today. Their faith in us is what fuels us to tirelessly work towards a brighter and more prosperous future.
“I want to also express my sincere appreciation to the Appeal Court for ensuring a fair and transparent judicial process.

“The verdict is a testament to the efficacy of our justice system and its commitment to upholding the principles of justice, equity, and the rule of law. Our Governor’s victory is a victory for progress, for the downtrodden, and for every citizen who has entrusted their hopes and dreams to our administration.”