The Supreme Court Thursday in Abuja kept on hold, its judgement on the Kano State governorship legal tussle.
After almost seven hours of arguments between the counsels of the sitting governor Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP and the All Progressives Congress APC and it’s candidate Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, the justices of the Apex Court head by John Iyang Okoro adjourned for the day.
The Kano governorship election tribunal had sacked governor Kabir Yusuf, hinging it’s judgement on the submission that 100,000 ballot papers, which were casted votes for Yusuf were not signed by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The Appeal Court toed the argument of the tribunal, but was soon emershed in controversy, following conflict judgement reports.
During the proceedings Thursday, counsel for governor Kabir Yusuf, Wole Olanipekun SAN said the judgements of Appeal Court and the Tribunal, should be set aside by the Supreme Court.
“The judgment of the lower courts is very unfair to the appellant and we urge your lordships to upturn it,” Olanipekun said.
“Nobody raised the legality or illegality of the ballots. They tendered the ballot from the bar. Nobody spoke to it.
“The ballot papers were legal because they were issued by INEC officials.”
On the other hand, the All Progressives Congress (APC) counsel, Akin Olujimi submitted that the Electoral Act stipulates that INEC presiding officers must sign the back of ballot papers after the conclusion of the election to make them legal and lawful
INEC counsel Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, in his argument said:
“They were our ballot papers issued by INEC,”
Mahmoud said, it was not the duty of a voter to check if ballot papers were signed or not but that of the party agents.
