Supreme Court reserves judgement in Kano governorship dispute.

Supreme Court reserves judgement in Kano governorship dispute.

The Supreme Court has reserved judgement in the Kano State governorship election dispute between Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The apex court said the date for the judgement would be communicated to both parties.

Earlier, a five-member panel of justices led by Justice Inyang Okoro had listened to closing arguments from the lawyers representing both parties and accepted a cross-appeal filed by APC.

Yusuf had appealed the November 17 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which nullified his victory in the March 19 governorship election.

He also notified the apex court of the contradictions in the CTC judgment, which upheld the governor’s election and awarded the sum of N1 million in his favour.

Recall that a three-member panel of justices of the appellate court led by Justice Moore A. Adumein upheld the appeal of Gawuna.

The panel held that Yusuf was not a registered member of NNPP and, therefore, ineligible to contest the election.

However, in the long argument before the apex court on Thursday, parties raised issues concerning the jurisdiction of the court in political party membership of a candidate.

The lawyers also argued over whether the court could “visit the sin of INEC’s failure to sign over 160,000 ballot papers on the voters in Kano State.”