From Mustapha Adamu, Kano
The Kano governorship election petition tribunal on Monday reserved judgment in the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress, (APC), challenging the victory of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP)
The three-man panel tribunal, presided over by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay made the declaration after the petitioner and all parties submitted and adopted their final written address.
Although, the tribunal was not specific on the date of judgement, Justice Osadebay pledged to do justice and be fair to all parties in line with the provisions of the law and adhere to the 180 days within which election judgement would be delivered.
While adopting his final address, counsel to the petitioner, Chief Offiong Offiong, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) prayed to the tribunal to disqualify the NNPP gubernatorial candidate as he is not qualified to contest because his name was not on the list of the membership of NNPP forwarded to INEC before the election.
The petitioner said the NNPP Governorship candidate was not a full and registered member of NNPP before the election, hence his victory remains null and void.
The lawyer equally asked the tribunal to declare the APC candidate winner, having scored highest votes and in alternative, the tribunal should declare the gubernatorial election inconclusive because the margin of lead is not more than the votes cancelled.
In his response, the counsel to Governor Yusuf, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition of the APC for lacking in merit.
In a seven volume reply against the APC petition, the Senior Advocated insisted the petition challenging INEC declaration of Yusuf as Governor as dead on arrival.
NNPP declared that all the arguments raised by APC are incompetent, null and void and fundamentally defective.
The respondents asked the tribunal not to waste it’s precious time to dissipate energy on frivolity as contained in APC’s petition.
Argued why APC’s petition ought to be declared invalid in the first instance, counsel to the respondents, submitted that no competent court has jurisdiction to rule on a petition where the primary contender ( Governorship candidate) was not joined.
On the credibility of NNPP membership, the respondents lawyer insisted that aside the fact that the matter is an internal affairs of NNPP, he faulted the interjection of APC in a matter that is status bar and dated to pre-election hearing.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer Professor Ahmad Doko Ibrahim declared Abba Yusuf, the candidate of NNPP winner and returned elected, having poll 1,019,602 votes to defeat Nasiru Gawuna of the APC who scored 890,705 votes.
The Tribunal has up till 15th of September, 2023 to deliver Judgement.
