The Supreme Court will on Monday deliver judgment in the appeals challenging the election of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State as well as Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
The apex court presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, fixed the date after arguments have been taken from the lawyers involved in the legal battle.
The appellant in the case of Kano State, Abbah Kabir Yusuf, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had, through his counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), asked the Supreme Court to nullify the election that brought Ganduje to the office on the ground of the illegality of the election.
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Awomolo in his argument informed the court that the Returning Officer with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had unlawfully cancelled elections in 207 polling units in the 44 local government areas of Kano State during the March last year gubernatorial election.
The senior counsel also pleaded with the apex court to nullify the result of the March 23, 2019, supplementary election conducted by the Returning Officer which led to the emergence of governor Ganduje adding that the supplementary election was unlawfully conducted after the purported cancellation
However, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN), counsel to governor Ganduje urged the Supreme Court justices to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.
He said that contrary to the claim of the appellant, form EC8E is the final result sheet for the governorship election and not form EC8D adding that the appeal has no legs to stand upon.
Also, counsel to INEC, Ahmed Raji (SAN) sought dismissal of the appeal on the ground that there was no established evidence of election cancellation by any Returning Officer on the election day.
Raji told the Justices that the Returning Officer was unable to collate results in the 207 polling units due to violence and snatching of election results sheets.
