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The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja on Friday, upheld the dismissal of Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and declared Yusuf Gawuna, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the duly elected governor of the state.

The Nigerian Tribune reports that in a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Justice Moore Adumein dismissed the appeal filed by the Kano State Governor against the judgment of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

The tribunal had declared the All Progressive Congress (APC) flagbearer, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, as the winner of the state’s governorship poll held on March 18.

Recall that the Independent National Electronic Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced Yusuf as the winner of the March 18, 2023, election, stating that he garnered 1,019,602 votes to defeat Gawuna, who received 890,705 of the votes cast.

However, the APC approached the Tribunal, citing alleged electoral malpractice.

In agreement with the APC, the Tribunal nullified Yusuf’s election, adding that over 160,000 ballot papers “were not signed or stamped by INEC”. Yusuf’s votes were reduced to 853,939, while Gawuna’s 890,705 votes were unaffected.

The three-man panel of the Tribunal, led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, sacked Yusuf on September 20, 2023, after deducting 165,663 of his votes. The governor then filed an appeal before the appellate court.