Court Verdict: NNPP S’West Leader, Olopoeyan Calls For Caution Over APC’s Desperation To Hold Kano
SOUTHWEST zone of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), yesterday, appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against plunging Kano State into chaos because of their desperation to unseat Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
Leader of the Southwest NNPP, Alhaji Bisi Olopoeyan, called for caution over what he described as desperation on APC and the presidency to use the instrumentality of the courts to overturn the popular wish of the electorate.
Olopoeyan said it beats human logic that what the tribunal upheld to sack Yusuf was different from what the Justices of the Appeal Court upheld.
According to him, “The stakeholders involved in the shenanigan must realize the serious implications of teleguiding the courts to subvert the popular vote of Kano Stage.”
Olopoeyan said the desperation demonstrated by APC is simply to have Kano State under the party’s total control ahead of 2027 is ridiculous.
He said, “It is either they plunged Kano into a kiosk because Governor Yusuf in Kano, and as long as he contests he will always win.”
He said the APC as a party can’t withstand the political clout of Governor Yusuf Abba in Kano, thereby advising APC leaders and national chairman, Umar Ganduje to accept their weakness and embrace the ordained man from NNPP.
” At the moment, APC can’t match the political might and people’s love for Abba in Kano, he won them at the 2019 governorship race when he contested under PDP but they cornered the victory, now in 2023, Abba moved to a new party, he still won again with a landslide victory, but they still want to steal his mandate again, it is high time Ganduje, and his APC leaders stopped chasing shadow in Kano politics, the more they try to bring Abba down, the more he disgraces them at every chance, and am saying this, 2027 will be worse for APC in Kano, if they don’t embrace Abba’s political supremacy now.
The NNPP stalwart also frowned at the way elections are now being won through the court instead of the electorate.
He said the judgment of the Abuja Appeal Court in the Kano election on Friday, which sacked Governor Yusuf of NNPP is ambiguous and unacceptable.
“I trust the Supreme Court would do necessary justice. I also admonished President Tinubu not to ever think of taking Kano ahead of his reelection.
Olopoeyan dismissed as mere rumor that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, who is the presidential candidate in 2023, has sold NNPP out to APC and President Tinubu, just as he maintained there was no religious or traditional institutional undertone in the ongoing trial.
The Ibadan-based politicians also expressed worry over the credibility of the 2022 Amended Electoral Act. “The 2022 Electoral ACT signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari did not change or improve anything.
Recall that The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, nullified the election of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, held that Governor Yusuf was not a valid candidate in the gubernatorial election held in the state on March 18.
It maintained that evidence that was adduced by the parties established that Governor Yusuf was not a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, at the time the election was held.
According to the court, Yusuf, under section Llĺ8177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, was not qualified to contest the governorship election since he was not validly sponsored by the NNPP.
