September 21, (THEWILL) – A Chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, has described the Kano State Governorship Election Tribunal that nullified the election of Abba Kabir Yusuf as Governor of Kano State as a huge joke and a pure miscarriage of justice.
Ajadi, who was the NNPP governorship candidate in Ogun State in the last election, said the judgement cannot stand the test of time as, according to him, it will be overturned by the Court of Appeal.
In a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists on Thursday, Ajadi said the Tribunal’s judgement was nothing but a miscarriage of Justice.
According to him, “The judgement is a huge joke. Abba Yusuf was given the mandate to govern Kano State by the people of Kano State willingly and it is only the people that can withdraw such mandate from him. The will of the people will prevail at the end of the day.
“The reported judgement nullified the free, credible and globally acclaimed fair election of our governorship candidate, Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf, and brazenly awarded the election to the APC candidate, Nasiru Gawuna.
“The Tribunal arrived at this unjust judgement by unfairly subtracting 165,663 votes from the Governor’s tally in order to enable it to unfairly award the election result to the candidate of the ruling APC. In doing so, the Tribunal obviously affirms its belief that the vote tally of the APC candidate was sacrosanct.
“Our party, the NNPP, has about 26 members in the House of Assembly while APC has 14. Their elections were conducted on the same day as the governorship election. The party won in almost all the Local Government Areas of the State. So, where has the Tribunal derived the victory it gives the APC Candidate?” Ajadi queried
Ajadi called on the people of Kano and Nigerians, in general, to remain calm and be law-abiding, saying the judgement would be reversed at the Court of Appeal.
He also called on Governor Abba Yusuf to be calm and continue with his good works, saying the people of Kano State are solidly behind him.
Ajadi said NNPP, as a party, is not disturbed by the judgement because, according to him, “everybody is aware that NNPP is the leading political party in Kano and that the judgement is temporary”.
He expressed his unalloyed support to the leader of the party, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, and praised him for the mature way he has been piloting the affairs of the party.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
