Eminent political figures and civil society organizations are urging President Bola Tinubu to embrace the outcome of the recent Kano State governorship election in the interest of Nigeria’s stability and unity,leadership reports.
During a roundtable discussion led by Chief Oguntade Omolewa of the Forum for National Integration and Development, senior figures advised Tinubu against pursuing legal measures to overturn the Kano election results. These results indicated the victory of Abba Kabir Yusuf, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate, over Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Court of Appeal in Abuja is anticipated to deliver judgment on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s appeal challenging his removal by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal. The tribunal had, on September 20, 2023, invalidated 165,663 of Yusuf’s votes due to lack of signatures or stamps from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Subsequently, Yusuf’s vote count was reduced to 853,939, while Gawuna retained his 890,705 votes.
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Chief Omolewa emphasized the need for President Tinubu to adopt a politics of inclusion and national cohesion instead of division, considering the current circumstances.
Similarly, Moshood Shittu, a civil society leader and former presidential candidate of the now-defunct Alliance National Party, reminded Tinubu of his own history as an opposition figure permitted to govern Lagos State despite the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) dominance at the federal level. Shittu appealed to the appellate court to prioritize national interest and security in delivering the reserved judgment on the Kano case.
He stated, “We advocate for the use of discretion and intelligence in dispensing justice to avoid a political crisis in Kano, especially considering the overwhelming support the people gave to NNPP governor Abba Kabir Yusuf during the 2023 governorship elections.”
