The Kano election petition tribunal has made a major decision over the Kura/Madobi/Garum-Malam federal constituency of Kano state. Led by Justice Flora Azinge, the three-member panel has declared Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso from the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the rightful winner.
This decision comes after upholding the petition filed by the APC candidate, which challenged the initial victory of Detti Yusuf Umar from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The tribunal’s ruling hinged on a crucial factor. It found that Umar failed to resign from his position at Bayero University, Kano before accepting the party’s nomination.
This breach led to the invalidation of his victory. Initially, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Umar, representing NNPP, as the winner of the February 2023 national assembly elections, triumphing over Kwankwaso of the APC.
In response to the initial outcome, Kwankwaso chose to contest the validity of the election through a petition. This recent decision by the tribunal now establishes Kwankwaso as the official winner of the Kura/Madobi/Garum-Malam federal constituency in Kano state.