Abba Yusuf has rejected Wednesday’s judgment of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which removed him as Kano State governor and announced the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nadir Gawuna, as the winner of the 18 March election.
Speaking at a press conference late Wednesday Yusuf, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), said the judgment according to his legal team, was marred by human imperfections and misapplication of the law.
He said as a result of this he will seek justice at the Court of Appeal.
The tribunal removed Yusuf as governor after deducting 165,663 votes from the total votes he scored during the election.
The three-member panel of judges led by Oluyemi Asadebay ruled that the ballots containing the votes were not certified by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“My good people of Kano State! You would recall that on March 18, 2023, you came out in mass and voted for me as your Governor with a total vote of 1,019,602 and a margin of 128,897 votes between my humble self and second place,” he said at the press conference.
“Subsequently, I was duly sworn in as your elected Governor on May 29, 2023. You may also recall that the party that lost the election took us to court.
“However, after almost six months of proceedings at the governorship election petition tribunal, today Wednesday, September 20, 2023, the judges of the tribunal have in their wisdom delivered their ruling.
“As human beings their judgment may not be perfect, there are errors and misapplications of the law as pointed out by our legal team. That is why our constitution provides for other stages to go on with- such as the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“On this note, we have already instructed our legal team to appeal this judgment as soon as possible to ensure that justice is done.”
He called on all the people of Kano State to be calm and remain law abiding.
Also he advised that people should not take the law into their own hands, as security agents have already been directed to ensure the full protection of the lives and properties of innocent citizens across the state.
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