By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Abuja

The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has approached the Supreme Court to set aside the judgement that sacked its candidate, Abba Yusuf, from office as the Governor of Kano State.

The party, in the 10-ground of appeal it filed through a team of lawyers comprising of eight Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, maintained that the judgement the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal delivered against its candidate on November 17, “was perverse”.

It prayed the apex court to nullify the entire judgement of the appellate court, except the final conclusion on page 67 of the duly certified true copy thereof, including order as to cost favourable to the Appellant, to wit: “The judgement of the tribunal in Petition No: EPT/KN/GOBV/022/2023, between All Progressives Congress Vs Independent National Electoral Commission & 2 Ors, delivered on the 20th of September 2023, is hereby set aside.”

The party equally urged the Supreme Court to sustain a portion of the appellate court judgement where it was written that the sum of N1 million was awarded in its favour and against the APC candidate, Nasiru Gawuna.

According to the NNPP, Justices of the Court of Appeal “erred in law and occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice to the prejudice of the Appellant.”

It stressed that whereas the three-member panel of the appellate court, in one breath, noted that governor Yusuf contested the gubernatorial election on its platform and was declared winner with a total of 1, 019, 602 votes, while the APC which sponsored Gawuna was said to have scored a total of 890, 705 votes, the court still proceeded to hold that Section 134(1) (a) of the Electoral Act 2022 when juxtaposed and read in conjunction with Section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, gave it the jurisdiction to determine the claim that its candidate was not qualified to contest the election because he was not a member of the party. 

The NNPP argued that the decision of the tribunal on the issue of party membership was in favour of its candidate, Governor Yusuf. 

“The decision of the tribunal on the issue of party membership was not challenged in the instant appeal to the Court of Appeal.

“The Court of Appeal reviewed and reversed the tribunal’s judgement that went in favour of the Appellant and 1st Respondent on issue of party membership, when no ground of the appeal or issue was formulated to warrant such a review.”

The party further argued that the appellate court lacked the jurisdiction to delve into the issue of non-qualification of the 1st Respondent (Governor Yusuf), “on which there was no appeal before the Court of Appeal in the instant appeal.”

“Allegation of presenting an unqualified candidate to contest election is an infraction for which a political party is liable to a fine of N10million where properly raised and established. 

“The allegation of presenting an unqualified candidate to contest election, being criminal offence, could not be raised and determined suo motu on appeal as the Court of Appeal did,” it added. 

The party insisted that the Appeal Court came to a perverse decision when “their Lordships mixed up issue of party membership register for use at party primaries with qualification to contest the general election.”

It told the apex court that the panel members “misdirected themselves in law by misapprehending the issue in the appeal when they delved into alternative hypothetical scenario that party register could sustain ground of disqualification of 1st Respondent if the objection to the ground had not been upheld.”

Consequently, aside from praying the Supreme Court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgement of the appellate court, the NNPP, urged the apex court to uphold the part that vacated the verdict of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which nullified the election of its candidate.

Cited as 1st to 3rd Respondents in the appeal, are governor Yusuf, the APC and INEC, respectively.