Kano guber: NNPP’s Abba Yusuf got only 178,374 votes — not 1m, APC tells tribunal

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state says Abba Yusuf, candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), got only 178,374 votes in the governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Yusuf as the winner of the election after he polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat Yusuf Gawuna of the APC who scored 890,705 votes.

In its petition filed at the election petitions tribunal, APC said Yusuf was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast during the election.

The party said “unlawful ballot papers” without signature, stamp, and dates were used in 32 out of the 44 LGAs of the state during the conduct of the election.

“The second respondent (Yusuf) was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the election,” APC said in the petition.

“Your petitioner repeats paragraphs 1 – 83 of the petition herein in support of the ground of the petition that the second respondent was not elected by a majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

“Your petitioner says further that in the election to the office of governor of Kano held on the 18th March 2023, unlawful ballot papers that did not have the signature stamp and date of the election were used in casting votes for the second respondent in all the polling units in the underlisted Local Government Areas.

“The petitioner hereby gives notice to the first respondent to recount the ballot papers in the course of the trial of the affected LGAs in Kano state as pleaded above.

“Your petitioner says that when the unlawful votes of the second respondent amounting to 896,022 votes are deducted from the scores of the second respondent the net result will be that the second respondent scored 178,374 votes and the petitioner and its candidate secured a majority of lawful votes of 890,705 and ought to have been returned elected and a winner of the election.”