Supreme Court Affirms Ganduje As Kano State Governor

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election that returned Abdullahi Ganduje as governor of Kano State.

A seven-man panel headed by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, delivered the judgment on Monday after it was postponed from the initial date.

The panel, in a unanimous judgment, dismissed the appeal by candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Abba Kabir Yusuf, challenging the victory of Ganduje.

The justices held that the appeal lacked merit and was therefore dismissed.

They also added that the petitioner failed to substantially prove and provide evidence that there was any irregularity in the election held on March 9 and the supplementary election on March 23, 2019.

Recall that media reports had indicated that the exercise was characterised by violence. 

Foreign observers also condemned the election, stating that it was characterised by large-scale irregularities and violence.

Before the elections were declared inconclusive after the March 9 governorship election, PDP was leading with 1,014,474 votes, while APC had 987,819 votes.

However, after the March 23 governorship election, the total figures for APC stood at 1,033,695 votes against 1,024,713 votes secured by PDP. 

This meant Ganduje won with a margin of 8,982 votes.

Four polling units were cancelled in Gama Ward in Nasarawa Local Government Area due to incidents of over voting and violence while a total of 2,639 votes were cancelled.