The Supreme Court has officially affirmed Governor Kabir Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) as the duly elected and returned Governor of Kano State, following the Governorship poll on March 18th.
In a prior turn of events, both the tribunal and a lower court had nullified Governor Kabir Yusuf's position, endorsing the petition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Gawuna.
Justice Inyang Okoro JSC delivered the lead judgment, articulating key points that influenced the court's decision. He expressed, "I have found that the decision of the tribunal to deduct 165,616 votes from the Governor's results was based on provisions of the Electoral Act 2022."
Addressing concerns about ballot papers without INEC marks, Justice Okoro stated, "A ballot paper that does not bear INEC mark is not invalid by all purposes. Also, there is no proof that the said ballot papers were not the ones used at the election. Thus, the decision of the Court of Appeal affirming the decision of the tribunal ought to be set aside."
Highlighting a crucial aspect, Justice Okoro noted, "Finally, the lower court wrongly misconstrued its evaluation of the ballot papers. This amounts to perversion. Accordingly, all the ballot papers are restored to Governor Yusuf."
On the matter of membership and nomination, the Apex Court emphasized, "This court has consistently maintained that the issue of nomination or sponsorship of a candidate for an election is completely an exclusive prerogative of the political party."
With the Supreme Court's definitive ruling, Governor Kabir Abba Yusuf's mandate is now firmly reinstated, bringing a resolution to the legal disputes surrounding the Kano State gubernatorial election.
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