The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 18 governorship election in Kano State, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, has reacted to the tribunal judgement, affirming him as the winner of the election, while sacking the state governor, Abba Yusuf Kabir of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), stati3 that he is not afraid of the appeal challenging his victory at the tribunal.
The Informant247 had earlier reported that the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had on Wednesday sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring the APC election winner.
The three-man panel ordered the withdrawal of a certificate of return, which INEC presented to Governor Yusuf and directed that a certificate of return be issued to Gawuna after deducting 165,663 votes from Governor Yusuf’s total as invalid votes, stating that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and therefore invalid.
Commenting on the issue in an interview with BBC, Hausa Gawuna said, “I am grateful to Allah for our victory in the Kano State election, which was affirmed by the court today (Wednesday). I thank Him for His will, which chose us to lead. I also thank our lawyers and the general public for their prayers and support.
“In the past, NNPP was initially declared the election winner, but I believe Allah had already decided the outcome. We had the right to challenge the results in court, and we did so. The court’s ruling is also the will of Allah.”
Asked if he fears an appeal, Gawuna said, “Anyone who believes that nothing happens without Allah’s will will never worry or take governance as a do-or-die affair. Whatever happens to us, we believe it is the will of Allah. We are not intimidated or afraid because we know whatever happens is for the best. Allah never makes mistakes.”