Daud Olatunji
In a groundbreaking ruling, the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has altered the political landscape by stripping Governor Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) of his certificate of return and awarding it to Dr. Nasir Gawuna, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the March 18 election.
The tribunal cited three reasons which are ; membership dispute, overvoting Concerns and invalid votes.
On membership Dispute, the tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akinatan-Osadebey, declared that Governor Kabir Yusuf was not a valid member of the NNPP at the time of the governorship election.
It said that the revelation cast serious doubts on the legitimacy of his candidacy and raised questions about the election’s fairness.
On overvoting, Justice Akinatan-Osadebey’s verdict also highlighted the issue of overvoting in favour of Governor Yusuf during the election.
It added that overvoting is a critical electoral offense, and the Tribunal’s findings indicated irregularities that skewed the results in his favor.
On invalid votes, the Tribunal said it noted a significant discrepancy in the margin of lead between the NNPP and APC candidates, which it said did not align with the number of canceled votes.
To address this issue, the Tribunal invalidated a staggering 165,663 votes from Governor Yusuf’s total count.
These votes were declared invalid due to the absence of proper stamps or signatures on the corresponding ballot papers.
This landmark decision not only alters the political landscape in Kano State but also raises important questions about the integrity of the electoral process and the role of party membership in Nigerian politics.
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