By Abubakar Garba
The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has hailed the judgment of the Appeal Court affirming the victory of his party’s candidate in the last governorship election in Kano state, Dr Nasiru Gawuna, saying democracy has come to stay in Nigeria.
Addressing journalists at his Abuja residence on Friday, Ganduje thanks the judiciary “for providing good administration of justice despite all the distractions that took place since the beginning of case”.
“We have to thank the judiciary. There is no doubt this is a victory for democracy. It is a victory for APC and a victory for Kano state.
“This is an indication that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria. Democracy we can say is matured in Nigeria. We have to thank all those stakeholders even the political parties, even the NNPP that took us to the Appeal Court.
“We have to thank them because they are part of the process of democracy. There is no doubt that after election you get to litigations. And the end result is always determined by the judiciary.
“For Kano State, this victory is for all of us. We are fully aware, we know what happens during the election. A lot of malpractices and we took the issue to the tribunal. And by the grace of God we got a fair judgement in favour of our great party., APC.
“Now, the government in power, the NNPP decided to go the Court of Appeal and this morning, the powers of God, the court of appeal affirmed the judgement of the lower court. And by so doing, our gubernatorial candidate Dr. Nasiru Gawuna is the duly elected Governor of Kano State.
“But in all, probably they will go to the Supreme Court which is part of democracy. There is nothing wrong for them to go to the Supreme Court. We too, we are ready to meet them in Supreme Court. And by God’s grace, we will win in Supreme Court as well.
“But, we want to assure the people of Kano State that the good administration that was provided in my eight years of administration with my deputy Dr. Nasiru Gawuna and now, the Governor elect for Kano state will provide a similar not even similar, I believe he will provide a better administration. More achievements will be recorded in Kano State. Because that is what we expect”. Ganduje declared.
On his part, Dr Gawuna said he will not fail the people.
“Whoever goes to the court like this, and was given judgment in his favour definitely feels very happy and grateful to Allah for the Court of Appeal to affirm his victory.
“I am so happy, yet I am still deep in my thoughts because I have to sit down and think very well. But because of the confidence and expectations of the people from us, by God’s grace, we are praying that we are not going to fail our people”.
Also, APC spokesman, Felix Morka in a statement said the Appeal Court judgments on Zamfara and Kano underscore the vibrancy and independence of the judiciary, and rekindles confidence that the courts are, and remain, the bastion of hope for justice in any democracy.
He said; “In an epochal judgement earlier today, the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja upheld the decision of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 18, 2023 election, affirming the legitimate will of the Kano electorate as expressed at the polls.
“This judgement, sacking Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as Governor of Kano State, comes barely 24 hours after the court declared the governorship election of Zamfara State inconclusive and ordered a rerun in three Local Government Areas of the state.
“As we applaud the judiciary for its courage and professionalism in discharging its important constitutional duties, we urge it to continue to rise above blackmail and intimidation by some self-serving political interests, and continue to give full expression to the tenets of the law, irrespective of the identity or status of parties involved.
“We congratulate our victorious members, and urge the good people of Kano and Zamfara states to remain calm and peaceful”.
