The Supreme Court has announced that it will be hearing an appeal in the Kano State governorship dispute on Thursday. The appeal was filed by Governor Kabir Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) who is challenging the verdict of the Appeal Court. The Appeal Court had upheld the tribunal’s verdict which had sacked Governor Yusuf and declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 11 governorship poll.
Barrister Bashir Tudun Waziri, the counsel for Governor Yusuf, confirmed that the hearing notice has been given to the legal team representing the governor and his party. The three-member panel of the Appeal Court had dismissed the appeal, stating that Governor Yusuf was not a registered member of the NNPP at the time he contested the governorship election.
However, a certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment later emerged, which provided conflicting orders. In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Moore Adumein, it was stated, “I will conclude by stating that the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favour of the 1st respondent and against the appellant.” Both the APC and the NNPP claimed that the judgment affirmed their victory in the election.
Nevertheless, the NNPP filed a notice of appeal before the Supreme Court, challenging the judgement of the Court of Appeal which upheld the decision of the governorship election petition tribunal. Gboyega Awomolo, SAN, the counsel for the appellant, listed 10 grounds for challenging the appeal. He stated that the appellant is challenging “the entire judgment of the Court of Appeal, save and except the conclusion and orders at page 67 of the duly certified true copy, CTC, including the order as to cost favourable to the appellant.” The hearing is expected to shed more light on the matter and provide a final resolution to the dispute.
