Naijahood
The Supreme Court, through a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of Justices, overturned the rulings of the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday. These lower courts had invalidated Governor Yusuf’s victory and declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the rightful winner of the gubernatorial election.
Justice Inyang Okoro delivered the lead judgment, emphasizing that both lower courts made an error by deducting valid votes accredited to Governor Yusuf by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The court ruled that the 165,663 votes deducted from Yusuf and the NNPP, based on the alleged lack of signatures, stamps, or dates on ballot papers, were indeed valid.
Contrary to the lower courts’ findings, the Supreme Court established that 146,292 of the ballot papers were confirmed to be signed and stamped, albeit without a date. According to Section 63(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, the court asserted that ballot papers with the official mark issued by INEC were not entirely invalid.
Furthermore, the court dismissed claims that Governor Yusuf influenced the non-signing of the ballot papers, highlighting the lack of evidence supporting such allegations. Additionally, it criticized the lower courts for annulling Yusuf’s election based on his alleged non-membership in the NNPP, asserting that a candidate’s sponsorship is a matter within the internal affairs of a political party.
The Supreme Court ultimately declared that Governor Yusuf secured the governorship election with a majority of lawful votes and was duly nominated by his political party.
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