By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja.
Spontaneous celebrations and dancing broke out on major streets in Kano and Plateau States on Friday after the Supreme Court overruled the Court of Appeal; and declared that the sitting governors, Kabir Yusuf and Caleb Mutfwang, remain on the exalted seats as chief executive officers of their domains.
Yusuf is of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, on the ground, as well as the apex court of the land.
The Apex Court on Friday reversed the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the election of the governor on miscarriage of justice.
Justice John Inyang Okoro who delivered the lead judgment held that the law and natural justice were turned upside down by the two courts below to arrive at the unjust and unfair decision.
Justice Okoro while voiding and setting aside judgments of the two lower courts said that miscarriage of justice in the ways and manners the petition against the governor was handled was manifest.
The Court of Appeal and the Tribunal had in their concurrent judgments annulled the election of Governor Kabiru Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and declared
Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Party, (APC) as winner of the March 18, 2023 Kano Governorship election.
However, the Supreme Court held that two fundamental flaws were discovered in the findings of the Tribunal and the Count of Appeal which led to an miscarriage of justice.
Justice Okoro said that the allegations of the APC that the Governor was not a member of the NNPP at the time he stood for the election and which the Tribunal used to overturn his victory is against the provisions of the law.
The court held that membership of the NNPP by the governor cannot be challenged by APC on the ground of being an internal affair of the party.
Justice Okoro held that the issue of party membership cannot be raised as a post election matter as done by the APC and its governorship candidate and wrongly upheld by the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court found that the Governor’s nomination was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in an NNPP letter head paper jointly signed by the party’ national Chairman and national Secretary.
Justice Okoro also held that since the nomination, no member of the NNPP had queried the action except the APC in its petition before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
Besides, the apex court reversed the unlawful removal of 165, 616 votes from the total votes cast for the NNPP and its governorship candidate at the poll.
The court said that there was no basis for the unlawful removal of the votes from the governor’s votes because the ballot papers used for the poll were duly issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
The apex court dismissed the allegations that the ballot papers were not signed and stamped at the back
Justice Okoro said that there was no scintilla of evidence from any witness or documentary exhibits that the ballot papers were illegal and unlawful as erroneously concluded by the Court of Appeal
The Supreme Court therefore agreed with the governor that miscarriage of justice was perpetrated against him in the way and manner his election was nullified.
Justice Okoro ordered that the 165, 616 votes unlawfully deducted from the governor be returned to him.
The court while allowing the appeal of the governor and the NNPP dismissed the two judgments earlier granted in favour of the APC and its governorship candidate on the ground that the judgments were erroneously entered in their favour.
Also on the same day, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeal which in November last year removed Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State from office on ground of unlawful nomination.
The apex court held that the Court of Appeal made fundamental error in allowing the All Progressives Congress APC to poke its nose into the conduct of the primary election by the People’s Democratic Party PDP and nullified the election unjustly.
Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, who delivered the lead of the unanimous judgment, said that the issue of primary election was an internal affairsl of political parties and that no other party can dabble into it except members of the same party.
Besides, Justice Agim said that the issue of alleged improper conduct of the ward and local governments election used to sack the tovernor was not justiceable.
He said that conduct of the ward and local governments election was an affair of the State Executive Committee of a political party while the conduct of the primary election for the nomination of a governorship candidate is entirely that of the National Executive Committee of a political party.
Justice Agim held that there was no issue of irregularities in the way and manner the Governorship primary election that produced the governor was conducted in Plateau and wondered why that of the ward election was used to nullify the gubernatorial poll.
He said that evidence was even well adduced that an order of Plateau State High Court allegedly disobeyed was indeed obeyed by parties involved.
Justice Agim, therefore, voided and set aside the order of the Court of Appeal that Nentawe Goshwehe, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) be inaugurated as Plateau State Governor.
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Plateau State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which had earlier dismissed the petition of the APC and its governorship candidate.