The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) on Friday disclosed it will explore all legal options to reclaim its mandate in Kano State.
NNPP’s spokesperson, Oladipupo Olayoku, in a chat with The Cable said the party would pursue the matter to a logical conclusion.
Recall that in a judgment delivered on Friday, the court of appeal in Abuja affirmed the verdict of the state governorship election petition tribunal sacking Abba Yusuf, NNPP’s candidate, as Governor of the Kano.
A three-member panel of the appellate court held that the NNPP breached the constitution by sponsoring Yusuf, who was not a member of the party when the election was held.
The court held that Yusuf’s name was not in any of the membership registers of the NNPP tendered before the tribunal — a contravention of section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution.
Speaking on the NNPP’s next line of action over the ruling, Olayoku said the party would open an appeal at the supreme court.
“That kind of judgement cannot stand. Once the supreme court opens, we will file our appeal. No going back.
“We will pursue the matter to the logical conclusion,” Olayoku said.
READ ALSO: “Governor Yusuf Wasn’t Qualified To Contest Kano Governorship Election” – Court
Meanwhile, there was tension in Kano on Friday as parents and guardians rushed to pick their wards in schools.
A head teacher of one of the private schools in Normandsland area of Fagge Local Government in Kano told Daily Trust that the parents were worried that there could be crisis over the sack of Governor Yusuf.
The anxiety was heightened among residents since Thursday when the Appeal Court announced that it would deliver judgement on the much anticipated governorship election dispute.
After the court made the announcement on Thursday, there was panic buying as residents feared that a curfew might be imposed.
A businessman at Kwari market, Yunusa Abdullah, said, “We are praying for things to go easily without any issue but for me, I will not even come to the market because you can never tell what will happen.
“I wonder why all this, now, everybody will go to sleep with this in their minds thinking. You will see by tomorrow, all busy streets will.be relatively empty. Everybody will sit at home because we have seen what happened when the Tribunal gave its verdict.”
Also speaking, another businessman, Usman Bello, said, “Let them do what they want to do but they should know that God is watching and they have created unnecessary tension among the teeming populace.
“We will not come out to the market tomorrow (Friday), you see, they will definitely cheat us as we would not be able to come out and get our daily bread.”
