Appeal Court Upholds Tribunal’s Decision to Sack Kano State Governor, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna

The Appeal Court has affirmed the decision of the tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay to sack the Governor of Kano State, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, on the grounds that he was not eligible to contest the election.

The lower court had declared 165,663 votes of Yusuf invalid, reducing his total votes to 853,939, while those of his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, Nasir Ganuwa, remained at 890,705.

The tribunal ruled that the invalidated votes were not signed or stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Yusuf, who contested under the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), rejected the tribunal’s decision, describing it as “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice.”

His counsel, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, argued at the Appeal Court that it was the first time in history that a tribunal annulled an election over the non-signing of the back of ballot papers.

However, Akin Olujimi, SAN, representing the APC, countered that the non-signing of ballots constituted electoral malpractice.

The Appeal Court ruled that Yusuf was not eligible to contest the election as he was not a member of the NNPP, upholding the decision of the tribunal.

Source: Daily Trust Newspaper