All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Kano, says it has petitioned National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, challenging the Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for returning Abba Kabir Yusuf of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Gubernatorial Candidate winner in just concluded Governorship poll in Kano, stressing that the election ought be declared inconclusive.
Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, Chairman of the Party in Kano, made this known while addressing Journalists and Party Stalwarts, held in Presidential/State Campaign Council.
He said the party has vehemently rejected the alleged wrongful return and declaration of Abba Kabir Yusuf as winner of the election.
He revealed that the Legal Team of the Party has already submitted its petition to National Chairman of the Commission, pursuant to section 65 of the Electoral Act, 2022 as amended, urging it to review the alleged wrongful declaration and set same aside for being in contravention with the Electoral Act.
The Chairman, represented by APC Legal Adviser in Kano, Barrister Abdul Adamu Fagge, urged INEC to declare the election inconclusive and order that the Rerun Election be conducted, immediately.
He said the Independent National Electoral Commission has established by law to be an impartial umpire, but according to him, it acted otherwise, during the just concluded Governorship election in Kano.
“The INEC acted in ultravires and in suspicious manner by wrongful returning and declaration of Abba Kabir Yusuf of NNPP as winner of the Election.
“In the cause of collation of the final result, INEC through its respective Returning Officers found out that there were cancellations of results in several polling units as a result of over voting and violence, across the 44 LGAs in the State.
“The Number of voters in the said polling units who have collected their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, stood at 273,442 Voters, which exceeded the total margin numbers or difference between the two main contenders in the election, which is 128,897”
“The Returning Officer in Connivance with the REC instead of declaring the said election inconclusive, but declared Abba Kabir Yusuf.” The Chairman alleged.
He further alleged that the Returning Officer went into seclusion for about 2hours and after surfacing he came up with the idea of relying on Item 2 of the Table contained at Page 93 of the Manual for Elections Officials 2023, in differentiating for polling unit cancellations due to over voting and polling unit cancellations due to willful violence, alleging that he refused to recount the Areas where there were violence.
He added that the REC was cautioned and guided not to apply Item 2 in the circumstances, and urged him to apply Item 6, noting that Election Materials were deployed and exercise commenced in the process there was violence. “Election couldn’t not be concluded, and Form ECG40 were filled at the affected polling units, but still the Returning Officer applied Section 2.
According to him, these has disenfranchised 273,442 persons who have collected their PVCs and ready to cast their votes at the various affected polling units.
Other Officials who spoke during the briefing include, APC Governorship Candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, Kano Attorney General, Musa Abdullahi Lawan, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Garba Ado Doguwa among others.
