The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday has sacked Abba Kabir Yusuf as governor of Kano state.
Recall that, Yusuf who contested on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Unsatisfied by the outcome of the election, APC heads to court to challenge the victory of Mr Yusuf.
In an unprecedented move, the court announced its decision via Zoom on Wednesday, with lawyers and journalists left outside the courtroom.
The Tribunal in its ruling on Wednesday by a three man panel orders the withdrawal of certificate of return issued to Govenor Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Delivering the judgement virtually, the Tribunal chairman, Justice Oluyemi Akinatan-Osadebey, said that Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP at the time the governorship election.
She also held that there was overvoting in the exercise in favour of Yusuf, and that the margin of lead between the NNPP and APC candidates was not up to the number of cancelled votes.
The Tribunal, therefore, deducted 165,663 votes from Governor Yusuf’s total votes as invalid votes, stating that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.
The court consequently directed that a certificate of return to be issued to the APC governorship candidate, Nasiru Gawuna.
