Abba Yusuf says he remains PDP Kano gubernatorial candidate

The sacked Kano gubernatorial candidate Abba Kabir Yusuf has said he remained the party’s flag bearer in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

“Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf remains the candidate of the People Democratic Party for the 2019 coming election on Saturday 9th of March, 2019,” Yusuf’s spokesman Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa said in a statement on Monday.

“As far as we are concern, our campaign activities will continue till Thursday night when the deadline of campaigns will elapse as contained in the electoral act 2010 as amended,” he added.

A federal high court sitting in Kano Monday sacked Yusuf as the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the state.

The judge, Lewis Allagoa, ruled that the PDP did not conduct governorship primary election in Kano, and declared the candidature of Yusuf null and void.

A PDP gubernatorial aspirant, Ali Amin-Little, had approached the court, challenging the process that led to the emergence of Yusuf as PDP gubernatorial candidate in Kano.

Dawakin-Tofa said the issues with Amin-little has nothing to do with Yusuf and that the party has “taken the next step.”

“The court ruling…does not in any way affect the candidature of Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf as the case is against the People Democratic Party (PDP), which we believed that the party has taken the most appropriate action of appeal,” Dawakin-Tofa said.

“We are surprised that the news of the judgment came from the mouthpiece of Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje via social media before the court ruling was delivered, it is a fact that the ruling party (APC) is behind the scene on this case, they are determined to prostrate the opposition ahead of Saturday’s polls for the fear of unknown,” he added.