The decision of the Appeal Court to uphold the verdict of the Tribunal affirming the sack of Governor Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party and declaring Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress as the duly elected governor has drawn the reaction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The latter on whose platform Yusuf contested for the governorship poll and was declared winner by the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, with the tribunal overruling the decision that was affirmed on appeal by the sacked governor on Friday pooh-poohed the judgement.
The state Chairman of the party, Hashimu Dungurawa said it was not within the court’s right to determine election winner but that of the electoral body.
Dungurawa asserted this in an interview with Punchng saying, “It is a stolen mandate because the party with the highest number of votes is the winner of any election, according to democracy, and that’s why I said it’s a stolen mandate.
“It’s INEC’s job to say the votes that are valid and those that are invalid, and nobody outside that jurisdiction should and that’s according to the constitution because the constitution is what made the Electoral Act.
“We are calling the attention of our people, especially the people of NNPP in Kano, that they should be calm. The governor and our team of lawyers will do all that is necessary and possible to reclaim our mandate that was taken away from us. This is what I know.”
