The Judicial hammer on Friday fell on Alhaji Abba Yusuf , the governor of Kano state, as the Court of Appeal in Abuja annulled his victory this affirming the decision of the governorship election petition tribunal that earlier nullified the governor’s election.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Moore Adumein, in a unanimous judgement declared Alhaji Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the 18 March governorship election in Kano State.

In a unanimous verdict on 20 September, a three-member panel of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal set aside Alhaji Yusuf’s victory after declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid.

The tribunal declared Alhaji Gawuna, who turned out to have the highest number of votes after the deduction from Alhaji Yusuf’s score, as the lawfully elected candidate.

However ,the Court of Appeal hinged its decision on disqualification of Alhaji Yusuf as a candidate in the election.

The court held that he was not a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party( NNPP) as at the time of the election.

According to the court , without being a member of a political party, Alhaji Yusuf could not have been validly nominated to run for the election in March.

Justice Adumein said :” Alhaji Abba was not a member of the NNPP as of the time he was purportedly sponsored on 18 March for the Kano Governorship election”.

“The tribunal was wrong not have disqualified the appellant, Governor Yusuf. The failure of NNPP to properly sponsor Mr Yusuf according to Section 177 (c) of the constitution, is fatal to their case.

“All the nine issues are hereby resolved against the appellant, the judge held. This appeal is hereby dismissed. The sum of N1 million is awarded as cost against Governor Yusuf,” Justice Adumein declared.

Mr Yusuf, the incumbent governor, who had won the governorship election on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), is locked in a fierce legal battle with Nasiru Gawuna of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), over the outcome of the poll.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Alhaji Yusuf as the winner of the 18 March election with 1,019,602 votes against Alhaji Gawuna’s 890,705 votes.

Alhaji Yusuf had rode on the popularity of a former governor of the state, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, and his political machinery, the Kwankwasiya Movement, to defeat Alhaji Gawuna of the then ruling APC in the state.