The Supreme Court has affirmed Abba Kabir Yusuf as the legitimate governor of Kano State. In a landmark decision on Friday, the court overturned the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that had previously annulled his victory in the gubernatorial race.
The five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, determined that the lower court misinterpreted the significance of the alleged deduction of 165,616 ballot papers in favor of Governor Yusuf. Justice Okoro emphasized that the issue of Governor Yusuf’s membership was a pre-election matter.
He clarified that the observation about Governor Yusuf not being sponsored by the NNPP, based on Section 177(c) of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 134(1) of the Electoral Act, was not a finding of the electoral tribunal but a mere notation that his name was absent from the membership list. Justice Okoro reinforced the court’s consistent stance that the nomination or sponsorship of a candidate is the exclusive prerogative of the political party.
